COX-2 inhibitors
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
"Concomitant use of aspirin may not fully offset" potential cardiovascular event risks of selective COX-2 inhibitors, Cleveland Clinic Foundation researchers report in the Aug. 22/29 JAMA. In examining the cardiovascular effects of the Rx drugs, Debabrata Mukherjee, MD, et al., looked at four trials, including the VIGOR study, which found a 2.38 relative risk of developing a thrombotic cardiovascular event with Merck's Vioxx (rofecoxib) compared with naproxen (1,000 mg/day). VIGOR study results "can be explained by either a significant prothombotic effect for rofecoxib or an antithrombotic effect from naproxen (or conceivably both)," Mukherjee et al. say