Medicine Science 2014;3(1):1032-45 Upper GI Complications of NSAIDs in Elderly

The incidence of upper gastrointestinal (GI) complications of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs remains the most common side effect. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of upper gastrointestinal complications of Ibuprofen as non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to Celecoxib and Meloxicam as selective non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. This study included 4 groups of subjects aging above 50 years old divided into control group including 10 healthy volunteers suffering from the symptom of dyspepsia and three test groups, each test group included 10 osteoarthritic or rheumatic patients receiving only one NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Celecoxib or Meloxicam) from at least 1 month. There was a statistically highly significant difference between the studied groups regarding the incidence of dyspepsia (p-value=0.008) and regarding the incidence of gastritis (p-value=0.042). In group II, there was a statistically significant correlation between the duration of administration of Ibuprofen and the incidence of dyspepsia. Similarly, in group III, there was a statistically significant correlation between the duration of administration of Celecoxib and the incidence of dyspepsia. Controversial, in group IV, there was no statistically significant correlation between the duration of administration of Meloxicam and the incidence of dyspepsia or gastritis or ulcer. Incidence of gastrointestinal side effects was lower for Celecoxib than for Meloxicam than for Ibuprofen. The study concluded that Celecoxib was safer than Meloxicam than Ibuprofen on the upper gastrointestinal tract.