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Pharmacotherapy

Comparative safety of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

A network meta-analysis by Trelle and colleagues has confirmed that the routine use of all nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, both nonselective and selective, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Although a rigorous method was used in this analysis, comparative safety research in which data from randomized clinical trials is used has some important strengths and weaknesses to consider.

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Acknowledgements

S. Y. Kim is supported by the NIH grant K23 AR059677. D. H. Solomon is supported by the NIH grants K24 AR055989, P60 AR047782, R21 DE018750, and R01 AR056215.

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Correspondence to Seo Young Kim.

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S. Y. Kim has received research support from Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. D. H. Solomon has received research support from Abbott Immunology and Amgen, and an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb. He serves an unpaid member of an Executive Committee and a Data Safety Monitoring Board for two analgesic trials sponsored by Pfizer.

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Kim, S., Solomon, D. Comparative safety of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nat Rev Cardiol 8, 193–195 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2011.30

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