Consensus about managing gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs?

Abstract

In a recently published article in BMC Medicine, Scarpignato and colleagues present the results of a consensus conference that addressed several aspects of the management of pain in patients with osteoarthritis. The main areas covered include the relative safety in regard to gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events of non-selective 'traditional' non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) versus cyclooxygenase-2 selective NSAIDs. The role of co-therapy with proton pump inhibitors in enhancing gastrointestinal safety is also reviewed. This commentary focuses on two areas that the consensus conference addressed, i) the whole length of gastrointestinal tract risk profile of the various NSAIDs (not just the ulcer risks in stomach and duodenum); ii) more recent information, but still some uncertainties, about the cardiovascular risks associated with the two classes of NSAID in general, and naproxen in particular.