Myocardial infarction and gastro-intestinal bleeding risks associated with aspirin use among elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes

Gastrointestinal safety of coxibs: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies on selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase 2

Prior meta-analyses have shown a higher gastrointestinal risk of nonselective NSAIDs versus placebo and a lower gastrointestinal risk of coxibs versus nonselective NSAIDs. However, the available data about gastrointestinal risk for coxibs versus placebo are scarce. The aim of this study was to review the current evidence on the use of coxibs and to evaluate the risk of gastrointestinal adverse outcomes (GAO) associated with coxibs versus nonexposed. Search was conducted on PubMed and Embase databases. We selected cohort observational, case-control, nested case-control and case-crossover studies that reported the risk of GAO associated with coxibs versus nonexposed as relative risk (RR), odds ratio (OR), hazard ratio (HR) or incidence rate ratio (IRR). It was estimated the pooled RR and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for coxibs both individually and as a whole by the DerSimonian and Laird method. Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Overall, coxibs were associated with a significant increment in the risk of GAO [RR 1.64 (95% CI 1.44-1.86)]. The analysis by individual drugs showed that etoricoxib [RR 4.85 (95% CI 2.64-8.93)] presented the highest gastrointestinal risk, followed by rofecoxib [RR 2.02 (95% CI 1.56-2.61)] and celecoxib [RR 1.53 (95% CI 1.19-1.97)]. Gastrointestinal risk was also high for the subgroups aged <65 years and low-dose coxibs. The use of coxibs is associated with a statistically significant increased risk of GAO, which would be high even for low-dose coxibs and <65-year-old subgroups. The risk would be higher for etoricoxib than for celecoxib and rofecoxib.

Risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and cardiovascular events due to NSAIDs in the diabetic elderly population

OBJECTIVE

We assessed gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and cardiovascular (CV) risks such as myocardial infarction or stroke associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use among elderly patients with diabetes.

METHODS

Using a nationwide claims database covering 2008-2012, we conducted a cohort study of patients with diabetes aged ≥65 years. Among the 117 610 patients, NSAID users and non-users were propensity score matched, excluding any who had experienced a potentially confounding event in the year prior to cohort entry. Multivariate Cox regression models treating death as competing risk were used.

RESULTS

There were 2184 (1.86%) cases of GIB and NSAID users had an adjusted HR (aHR) of 1.68 (95% CI 1.54 to 1.83) of GIB risk after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities and recent medications compared to NSAID non-users. There were 9333 (7.94%) cases of myocardial infarction or stroke with an aHR of 1.20 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.25). The risk of GIB was higher in patients with liver disease and renal failure, while that of CV events was higher in patients who received anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents, aspirin and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The number needed to harm was 111 for GIB and 77 for CV events. Among different NSAIDs, nimesulide increased the risk of GIB and ketorolac increased the risk of CV events compared to celecoxib (aHR 2.60 and 3.13, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Elderly patients with diabetes treating NSAIDs had a significantly higher risk of both upper GIB and CV events compared to NSAID non-users, and the risk varied among different NSAIDs regardless of cyclooxygenase-2 activity.