Table 3

Additional gastrointestinal bleeding events and myocardial infarction associated with using NSAIDs and coxibs

Event and drug

Relative risk

Additional events per 1,000

Additional deaths per 1,000

Frequency (1 in)

Gastrointestinal bleeding (background rate 2.2 per 1,000)

Ibuprofen

1.9

1.98

0.20

5,051

Naproxen

4.0

6.60

0.66

1,515

Diclofenac

3.3

5.06

0.51

1,976

All NSAIDs

4.2

7.04

0.70

1,420

Celecoxib

1.1

0.22

0.02

45,455

Rofecoxib

2.0

2.20

0.22

4,545

Myocardial infarction (background rate 8.2 per 1,000)

Ibuprofen

1.07

0.57

0.17

5,807

Naproxen

0.98

-0.16

-0.05

-20,325

Diclofenac

1.44

3.61

1.08

924

All NSAIDs

1.09

0.74

0.22

4,517

Celecoxib

0.96

-0.33

-0.10

-10,163

Rofecoxib

1.26

2.13

0.64

1,563

Any dose of drug was allowed in the data, and the table additionally shows the rate and frequency of additional events. The calculations used a mortality rate of 10% for gastrointestinal bleeding and 30% for cardiovascular events. NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; coxib, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor.

Moore et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2008 10:R20   doi:10.1186/ar2373