Cardiovascular outcomes with etoricoxib and diclofenac in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the Multinational Etoricoxib and Diclofenac Arthritis Long-term (MEDAL) programme: a randomised comparison
Cannon CP, Curtis SP, FitzGerald GA, Krum H, Kaur A, Bolognese JA, Reicin AS, Bombardier C, Weinblatt ME, van der Heijde D, Erdmann E, Laine L, Committee F. Cardiovascular outcomes with etoricoxib and diclofenac in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the Multinational Etoricoxib and Diclofenac Arthritis Long-term (MEDAL) programme: a randomised comparison. The Lancet 2006, 368: 1771-1781. PMID: 17113426, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(06)69666-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsThrombotic cardiovascular eventsNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugsCardiovascular eventsHazard ratioRheumatoid arthritisCyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitorsTraditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugsCOX-2 selective inhibitorsPrespecified pooled analysisRelative cardiovascular riskTraditional NSAID diclofenacUpper gastrointestinal eventsPlacebo-controlled trialAverage treatment durationAnti-inflammatory drugsSelective inhibitorLong-term useDiclofenac groupEtoricoxib groupGastrointestinal eventsMultinational EtoricoxibCardiovascular outcomesCardiovascular riskTreat analysisClinical events