Graham Vioxx study
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
"Patients taking Vioxx had a 34% higher chance of coronary heart disease when compared with people who used other NSAIDs," David Graham, MD, FDA Office of Drug Safety, et al., conclude in a study published online by The Lancet Jan. 25. The study indicated Merck's Vioxx may have caused 88,000-140,000 excess cases of coronary heart disease since its launch. Researchers analyzed data on 1.4 mil. people who used either rofecoxib, celecoxib, ibuprofen or naproxen from January 1999 through December 2001. Participants who took naproxen experienced a 14% increased risk of coronary heart disease compared to those using other NSAIDs. "Because of limited power, we were unable to fully address whether the cardiovascular risk associated with rofecoxib varied by duration of use," Graham et al. note...