Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Celecoxib in a Clinical Trial for Colorectal Adenoma Prevention
February 15, 2005 07:56

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/NEJMoa050405 ABSTRACT... Background Selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors have come under scrutiny because of reports suggesting an increased cardiovascular risk associated with their use. Experimental... (Read this Vioxx Article)

The federal government will begin hearings tomorrow to determine the fate of some of the most popular painkillers of all time, but many doctors and patients are already turning away from the drugs.

Amid mounting reports questioning the safety of arthritis painkillers known as Cox-2 inhibitors, new figures show that doctors have moved sharply away from prescribing Celebrex and Bextra, the two remaining Cox-2s after the withdrawal of Vioxx in September.

Already one major insurer, Kaiser Permanente, dropped Bextra from its list of approved drugs. Two other Cox-2 drugs - Merck's Arcoxia and a GlaxoSmithKline drug called 381 - are in development and could face a lot more FDA scrutiny.