Tolerability to etoricoxib in patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Background: the use of selective cyclooxygenase (cox) 2 inhibitors as an alternative to aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids) has been suggested for patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (aerd). objective: to evaluate tolerability to etoricoxib,a second-generation cox-2 inhibitor with high in vitro selectivity for cox-2 in patients with aerd. methods: we conducted a retrospective review of patients with suspected aspirin intolerance seen between october 2007 and april 2012. single-blind,placebo-controlled oral challenges with increasing doses of aspirin and etoricoxib were performed on 3 different days. results: of 262 patients with suspected aspirin intolerance,248 underwent challenge testing with aspirin and 122 (49.2%) showed positive test results. in 104 of these aspirin-sensitive patients,etoricoxib was tested as an alternative drug and was tolerated in all but 3 (2.9%),who developed a positive asthmatic reaction. conclusions: the highly selective cox-2 inhibitor etoricoxib was tolerated in most but not all patients tested. an oral provocation test is therefore recommended before prescribing etoricoxib for patients with aerd. © 2013 esmon publicidad.