Safety of selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: analysis of the last years data

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used pain relievers. However, their use often threatens with serious undesirable effects, associated mainly with damage to cardiovascular system (CVS), gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver. Contraindications to NSAIDs prescription are clearly regulated, algorithms for their personalized appointment are determined taking into account risk factors for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal adverse events. The severity of NSAIDs side effects is mainly due to the selectivity to cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), as well as the physicochemical properties of various drugs. Cardiovascular adverse events differ among various NSAIDs both within commonly used drugs and among COX-2 inhibitors. It is well known that NSAIDs selective for COX-2 are safer in terms of the effect on the gastrointestinal tract than non-selective drugs. A meta-analysis showed that relatively selective COX-2 inhibitors (meloxicam, etodolac) were associated with a comparable risk of developing symptomatic ulcers and ulcers identified by endoscopy, and safety and tolerability profiles of the drugs were similar.All NSAIDs are associated with cardiovascular toxicity, however, different drugs have significant risk differences. The mechanism of NSAIDs cardiovascular adverse effects is associated with an increase of blood pressure, sodium retention, vasoconstriction, platelet activation, and prothrombotic state. It has been shown that the risk of cardiovascular adverse events when taking COX-2 inhibitors (celecoxib, etoricoxib) significantly increases. According to a study of more than 8 million people, it was found that the risk of myocardial infarction was increased in patients taking ketorolac. Further, highest to lowest risk authors list indomethacin, etoricoxib, rofecoxib (not currently used), diclofenac, a fixed combination of diclofenac with misoprostol, piroxicam, ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, meloxicam, nimesulide and ketoprofen. When taking NSAIDs, the risk of heart failure decompensation increases, and it turned out to be the greatest for ketorolac, etoricoxib, and indomethacin. Meloxicam, aceclofenac, ketoprofen almost did not increase heart failure risk. It should be noted that when using the drugs (except for indomethacin and meloxicam), there is a tendency to increase the total cardiovascular and renal risks with increasing doses. Thus, it is obvious that a very careful approach is required when choosing NSAIDs. If there is an increased risk of gastrointestinal complications associated with NSAIDs, selective NSAIDs are preferred, with both coxibs and traditional selective NSAIDs showing the best safety profile in the studies. To minimize cardiovascular side effects specialists should consider the risk level of cardiovascular complications, as well as results of large clinical studies where particular NSAIDs are compared.