Risk of cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal bleeding is comparable between celecoxib and non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) between celecoxib and non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsNSAIDs) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

METHOD: In this nationwide retrospective cohort study using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment database, adult AS patients who received newly prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) continuously for ≥ 30 days (celecoxib or nsNSAIDs) between 2013 and 2017 were evaluated. The co-primary outcomes were the occurrence of composite CVD events, including hospitalization for myocardial infarction, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, heart failure, and coronary revascularization; and composite GIB, including hospitalization for upper and lower GIB. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to correct for baseline differences between the celecoxib- and nsNSAID-treated groups.

RESULTS

We identified 3164 celecoxib-treated and 18924 nsNSAID-treated patients with AS. After 1:1 PS matching, 3047 patients with AS were assigned to each of the celecoxib- and nsNSAID-treated groups. The incidence of composite CVD and GIB was 18.2/1000 person-years and 6.5/1000 person-years in celecoxib-treated and 15.1/1000 person-years and 7.3/1000 person-years in nsNSAID-treated patients, respectively. Compared to the nsNSAID-treated group, the hazard ratios of composite CVD and GIB in the celecoxib-treated group were not significant, with values of 1.17 (p = 0.499) and 0.87 (p = 0.696), respectively. There were no significant differences in the risk of each component of the composite CVD and GIB between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

We did not find significant differences in the risks of CVD and GIB between celecoxib and nsNSAIDs in AS patients.