RESEARCH - Selective COX-2 inhibitors cause less GI irritation than NSAID plus PPI

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Selective COX-2 Inhibitors Cause Less GI Irritation Than NSAID Plus PPI

Alice Goodman

June 18, 2010 (Rome, Italy) — Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and

osteoarthritis treated with a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor for

inflammation and pain were 4 to 5 times less likely to develop

clinically significant upper and lower gastrointestinal problems than

those who were treated with diclofenac, a nonselective nonsteroidal

anti-inflammatory drug, plus a proton pump inhibitor, according to

results of the Celecoxib vs Omeprazole and Diclofenac in Patients With

Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis (CONDOR) study. The study was

published online June 17 in The Lancet to coincide with its

presentation here at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)

Congress 2010.

Lead author of the study, Francis K.I. Chan, MD, from the Department

of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, at the Chinese

University of Hong Kong, called these findings relevant for patients

who require long-term anti-inflammatory therapy and who are at

increased gastrointestinal risk but not increased cardiovascular risk

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/723793

Not an MD