Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 341; no. 18; pp. 1397 - 1399
• Main Author: Morgan, R W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Massachusetts Medical Society 28-10-1999
• Subjects: Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - adverse effects; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; Drug Utilization - statistics & numerical data; Gastrointestinal Diseases - chemically induced; Gastrointestinal Diseases - microbiology; Humans; Registries; Risk Factors; United States - epidemiology; United States
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199910283411813

To the Editor:
In their article, Wolfe et al. (June 17 issue)
1
stated that the number of deaths associated with the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the United States every year is almost identical to that associated with AIDS. This statement, misinterpreted by the press, seriously overstates the risks associated with the use of NSAIDs.
Wolfe et al. extrapolated the estimated number of deaths associated with NSAIDs from death rates in the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System (ARAMIS). Although data from ARAMIS are valuable for examining relative risks, one cannot extrapolate incidence rates from ARAMIS to . . .