Influence of risk factors on endoscopic and clinical ulcers in patients taking rofecoxib or ibuprofen in two randomized controlled trials

Background: Highly selective inhibitors of the inducible cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme (coxibs) have been associated with less gastrotoxicity than nonselective NSAIDs in clinical studies. Aim: To evaluate the influence of risk factors for NSAID-induced gastrotoxicity on endoscopic and clinical ulcers in patients taking rofecoxib or ibuprofen. Methods: We analysed pooled data from two identical double-blind, randomized, 12-week endoscopy studies which compared the gastroduodenal toxicity of placebo (n=371), rofecoxib 25 mg (n=390), rofecoxib 50 mg (n=379), and ibuprofen 2400 mg daily (n=376) in patients with osteoarthritis. The potential risk factors evaluated were: age (