Comment on: “Coxibs Refocus Attention on the Cardiovascular Risks of Non-Aspirin NSAIDs”

Abstract

In a recent issue of the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, Thomas et al. [1] analyzed the cardiovascular safety of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors (coxibs). In the Recommendations section of the paper, the authors stated that, based on the results of the PRECISION (Prospective Randomized Evaluation of Celecoxib Integrated Safety versus Ibuprofen Or Naproxen) trial [2], celecoxib at moderate doses is not inferior to ibuprofen or naproxen in terms of cardiovascular safety. The PRECISION investigators seem to imply that celecoxib is a ‘cardiovascular safe’ drug, and we would like to challenge this statement with a more detailed analysis of the PRECISION trial.