GI Safety of COX-2 Inhibitors: Cochrane Collaboration Systematic Review

Adverse GI events are less common with COX-2 inhibitors than with NSAIDs, but we still have to weigh overall harms and benefits before prescribing these agents.

Many trials have indicated that individual selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors lower risk for gastrointestinal complications and ulcers compared with nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Although some of these head-to-head trials have been very large, researchers have never performed a large trial to evaluate the effects of COX-2 inhibitors as a drug class.

To address this gap, investigators with the Cochrane Collaboration performed a systematic review of data from head-to-head trials of individual COX-2 inhibitors (celecoxib, rofecoxib, etoricoxib, valdecoxib, or lumiracoxib) versus nonselective NSAIDs or placebo. An extensive literature search identified 69 randomized controlled trials (some unpublished) in w…

Reviewing Author

David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose