Celecoxib in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: new preparation. As disappointing as rofecoxib.
(1) The reference treatment for drug-based symptomatic relief of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is paracetamol and low-dose ibuprofen. (2) The clinical file on celecoxib, a drug promoted as a selective COX-2 inhibitor, is bulky but fails to answer several practical questions, mainly because it lacks comparative trials against paracetamol and low-dose NSAIDs. (3) In osteoarthritis, three double-blind trials versus naproxen and placebo in a total of 3 258 patients show that the analgesic effect of celecoxib 200 mg/day is moderate and does not differ significantly from that of naproxen. Giving celecoxib in one or two daily doses makes no difference in terms of efficacy. (4) In rheumatoid arthritis, two double-blind trials against naproxen and placebo in a total of 2252 patients, and a double-blind trial versus sustained-release diclofenac, show that the symptomatic effect of celecoxib is moderate and no different from that of the comparator NSAIDs. (5) There is no evidence that the safety profile of celecoxib is very different from that of other NSAIDs. The advantage in terms of gastrointestinal adverse effects appears very slight. According to clinical trials and pharmacovigilance data, celecoxib is in no way exempt from the severe gastrointestinal adverse effects generally associated with NSAIDs. (6) In short, celecoxib changes nothing in the management of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D009288:Naproxen / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D013449:Sulfonamides; D004008:Diclofenac; D009288:Naproxen