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Vioxx or Celebrex, Which is Safer?
A study of people enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente health plan reportedly found that heart attack rates and sudden cardiac deaths were tripled in patients taking Vioxx in doses higher than 25 milligrams a day compared to those taking a competing drug, Celebrex. The study was done by personnel at the FDA, who said that "this and other studies cast serious doubt on the safety" of Vioxx and that Celebrex "may be safer."

Comments: We do not know what to make of this story. It has not appeared in a peer-reviewed medical journal to our knowledge nor has it been published in any other form. We tried and could not find it on the FDA site (or on the Kaiser Permanente site). We would like to see a report of the study so that we can evaluate it.

We also do not understand how FDA personnel can say that Celebrex "may be safer." It seems highly unprofessional for the FDA, if they did, to enter into the competition between these two popular drugs for arthritis.

This story looks to be a case of preliminary medical information dispensed at a press conference. The FDA should come clean and issue a proper warning and back it up with the facts.

Barbara K. Hecht, Ph.D.
Frederick Hecht, M.D.
Medical Editors, MedicineNet.com

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