Celecoxib carries lower risk of upper GI haemorrhage than rofecoxib

The COX 2 inhibitors rofecoxib and celecoxib carry a much lower short term risk of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage than conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and celecoxib carries a lower risk than rofecoxib (p 624). Mamdani et al linked Canadian healthcare databases to compare the rate of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage among 40 000 elderly users of two COX 2 inhibitors; non-selective NSAIDs; and diclofenac plus misoprostol and 100 000 non-users of NSAIDs. They found 187 admissions for upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in 55 000 person years of follow up, and users of all the drugs except celecoxib had a risk ratio higher than controls. The risk was highest in users of non-selective NSAIDs, followed by diclofenac plus misoprostol, and rofecoxib.

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Relevant Article

Observational study of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in elderly patients given selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors or conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Muhammad Mamdani, Paula A Rochon, David N Juurlink, Alex Kopp, Geoffrey M Anderson, Gary Naglie, Peter C Austin, and Andreas Laupacis
BMJ 2002 325: 624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]