Selective COX-2 Inhibitors and Hospitalization for GI Bleeding

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used medications in the developed world, and elderly people are more likely to be prescribed NSAIDs than younger people. About 4% of NSAID users experience upper gastrointestinal hemorrhages, and the elderly are especially susceptible to NSAID-associated GI bleeding. Recently developed drugs (such as celecoxib and rofecoxib) that inhibit only the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) isoenzyme are associated with fewer endoscopic and clinical GI side effects than are conventional NSAIDs. To evaluate the safety of these agents in clinical practice, investigators in Ontario used administrative data from a large population-based cohort to compare the rate of hospitalization for GI hemorrha…