Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with increased selectivity for the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) isoform reduce gastrotoxicity but may increase adverse cardiovascular events.
Methods: We searched the literature for studies that reported the odds ratio (OR) for such events following exposure to NSAIDs.
Results: For studies comparing NSAID use with no use, increased COX-2 selectivity was significantly related to cardiovascular risk (log OR) amongst observational studies (R = -0.34, P < 0.001) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (R = -0.56, P < 0.001). For studies comparing NSAIDs, difference in selectivity was related to risk for observational studies (R = -0.28, P = 0.005) but not for RCTs (R = -0.23, P = 0.15).
Conclusions: Although increased COX-2 selectivity may reduce gastrotoxicity, this may be at the cost of increasing cardiovascular risk.