Re: RESEARCH - Generic anti-inflammatory causes significantly fewer GI complications than branded medications

November 28, 2004

I was looking back at my emails and glad I saw this, I will keep it in my notes,

thank you

April

<Matsumura_Clan@...> wrote:

Generic anti-inflammatory causes significantly fewer GI complications

than branded medications

DALLAS, TX., November 11, 2004 - People in search of pain relief who

take the generic anti-inflammatory etodolac suffer 60 percent fewer

gastrointestinal complications than those who take similar drugs,

according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and

the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Use of the drug etodolac instead of drugs like Celebrex or Bextra could

save the Veterans health-care system alone about $40 million annually.

" Since etodolac is available as a generic medicine, as much as an 80

percent cost savings can be achieved if patients were to use it rather

than branded medications such as Celebrex or Bextra, " said Dr. Byron

Cryer, associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern, a VA

physician and senior author of the study published in the November issue

of Gastroenterology. " In the 13 years of etodolac's use in the United

States, there have been no reports of increases in cardiovascular events

associated with this drug either. " Etodolac is a non-steroidal

anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in the same class as Celebrex. It was

first released in the United States in 1991 as a pain reliever and

arthritis treatment but has since gone off patent and is generically

available.

In the study, Dr. Cryer and his colleagues at UT Southwestern and the

Dallas VA evaluated more than 16,000 patients who, over a three-year

period from 1999-2001, used either etodolac or naproxen, an

over-the-counter pain reliever. Earlier studies indicated etodolac might

be safer in the gastrointestinal tract, but none had evaluated its

potential effects to reduce gastrointestinal ulcer complications such as

bleeding.

When compared to naproxen, etodolac reduced rates of complication by

more than 60 percent. This resulted in fewer hospitalizations for

bleeding or perforated ulcers in patients taking NSAIDs. Further, the

decrease in ulcer complications with etodolac was as great as or greater

than those seen in earlier studies with Celebrex or Vioxx.

As a result, the Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group

for the Veterans Health Care Administration has recommended that all

patients in their system currently on Vioxx be considered for conversion

to etodolac.

" Once several other large health-care plans become aware of the safety

data with etodolac and its cost-saving potential, many others may soon

follow the lead of the VA, " said Dr. Cryer, associate dean for minority

affairs at UT Southwestern.

Other contributors to the Gastroenterology study were Dr. Salahuddin

Kazi, associate professor of internal medicine, and Dr. Sarosi

Jr., assistant professor of GI/endocrine surgery, at UT Southwestern;

and Dr. Rick Weideman, Dr. , Dr. Anh Cung, Dr. ,

Dr. Herbert and Dr. Bertis Little of the Dallas Veterans Affairs

Medical Center. Research was supported by the Dallas VA.

Source: UT Southwestern

http://www.drugs.com/xq/cfm/pageid_1216/qx/index.htm

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

November 28, 2004