ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This pilot study assessed the effect of short-duration treatment with etoricoxib as adjuvant therapy to scaling and root planing (SRP) on the clinical and radiographic parameters and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) levels in aggressive periodontitis. METHODS: Subjects were randomly allocated to test or control treatment (n = 10 in each group) and submitted to SRP and treatment with etoricoxib, 120 mg/day, or placebo for 7 days. Probing depth, clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival recession, visible plaque index, bleeding on probing, linear distance (LD) from the cemento-enamel junction to the alveolar crest, and analysis of the gray levels were recorded before and 1 month after the therapies. The prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) level in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was measured by radioimmunoassay at the beginning of the study and 7 and 30 days after treatment. RESULTS: No significant difference in the clinical parameters was observed between the groups at the end of the experimental period, although both groups presented significant improvement in all variables examined. There was a decrease in CAL from 5.54 +/- 0.47 mm to 3.59 +/- 0.53 mm in the test group and from 5.92 +/- 1.10 mm to 3.69 +/- 0.80 mm in the control group. A significant reduction in PGE(2) was found after 7 days of treatment. LD differed between the groups. CONCLUSION: Etoricoxib did not promote additional improvement in the clinical parameters; however, it produced an initial reduction in the PGE(2) levels in the GCF, which could be related to the discrete improvement in the bone condition.
