RESEARCH - Etoricoxib well tolerated by RA patients

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Etoricoxib Well Tolerated by Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 27 - Etoricoxib shows better

gastrointestinal tolerability than diclofenac in patients with

rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a report in the March issue of

the ls of the Rheumatic Diseases.

" Etoricoxib, as a COX-2 selective inhibitor, provides therapy with a

gastrointestinal safety and tolerability advantage over traditional

NSAIDs, " Dr. Curtis from Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New

Jersey told Reuters Health. " It is a highly effective therapy to treat

arthritis symptoms and should be considered among the therapeutic

options available to treat patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid

arthritis. "

Dr. Curtis and colleagues assessed the GI tolerability of etoricoxib

versus diclofenac in the Multinational Etoricoxib versus Diclofenac

Arthritis Long Term (MEDAL) Program, which was primarily designed to

assess the thrombotic cardiovascular risk of a COX-2 inhibitor

relative to that of a traditional NSAID.

Only 4.3% of etoricoxib patients discontinued therapy during the first

12 months due to GI adverse effects, the authors report, compared with

6.9% of diclofenac patients.

There was a lower incidence of abdominal pain and gastritis with

etoricoxib and a higher incidence of ALT and AST increases with

diclofenac, the researchers note, and these differences mainly

accounted for the differences in discontinuations due to clinical and

laboratory adverse effects.

The differences were significant for both clinical and laboratory GI

adverse effects.

The cumulative incidences of confirmed cardiovascular events with

etoricoxib and diclofenac were similar over time, the investigators

say.

Both treatment groups experienced significant, meaningful improvements

in RA symptoms.

" At this time, additional studies for etoricoxib are planned and

ongoing, " Dr. Curtis said. " Like any trial, safety data will be

collected and analyzed but are not necessarily the primary purpose of

these studies. "

Ann Rheum Dis 2008;67:315-322.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/572088

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