A clinical trial demonstrates the analgesic activity of intravenous parecoxib sodium compared with ketorolac or morphine after gynecologic surgery with laparotomy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic activity of 2 doses of parecoxib sodium, ketorolac, and morphine with placebo after gynecologic surgery that requires laparotomy. STUDY DESIGN: In a randomized, controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study, 208 patients, after surgical hysterectomy, received single-dose intravenous placebo, parecoxib sodium 20 mg or 40 mg, ketorolac 30 mg, or morphine 4 mg followed by multiple-dose parecoxib sodium or ketorolac as needed. Primary efficacy variables were time to onset of analgesia, pain intensity differences, pain relief, time to first rescue/remedication, and global evaluation of study medication. RESULTS: Single-dose parecoxib sodium 40 mg provided significantly better pain responses to placebo or morphine 4 mg and was comparable to ketorolac 30 mg. Multiple-dose parecoxib sodium 20 mg, 4 times daily, or 40 mg, twice daily, was comparable to ketorolac 30 mg, 4 times daily. Parecoxib sodium was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Parecoxib sodium is an effective analgesic in the management of acute postoperative pain after laparotomy surgery.

Parecoxib sodium demonstrates gastrointestinal safety comparable to placebo in healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND: The gastrointestinal safety of the novel injectable cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor, parecoxib sodium, was compared with the nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ketorolac, and placebo in healthy subjects. STUDY: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 123 adults with endoscopically-confirmed normal upper gastrointestinal mucosae received parecoxib sodium 40 mg twice daily (7 days); placebo (2 days) followed by ketorolac 30 mg 4 times daily (5 days); or placebo (7 days) (each group n = 41). Posttreatment endoscopy scores were analyzed at 3 levels of severity: ulcers (scores of 7), > or =11 erosions/ulcers (scores of 5-7), and any erosions/ulcers (scores of 3-7). RESULTS: No subjects treated with parecoxib sodium or placebo developed gastroduodenal ulcers or > or =11 erosions/ulcers. Parecoxib sodium was comparable to placebo with respect to the combined incidence of erosions/ulcers (12% vs. 7%, P = 0.419). In contrast, in the ketorolac group, 11 (28%) subjects developed ulcers, 19 (48%) subjects developed > or =11 gastroduodenal erosions/ulcers, and the rate of combined ulcers/erosions was 85% (P < 0.001 vs. placebo and parecoxib sodium). CONCLUSIONS: Parecoxib sodium 40 mg twice daily for 7 days has a gastrointestinal safety profile superior to ketorolac 30 mg 4 times daily for 5 days, and comparable to placebo.

Analgesic efficacy of preoperative parecoxib sodium in an orthopedic pain model.

The efficacy and safety of preoperative intravenous administration of parecoxib sodium, a novel parenteral prodrug of a cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor, in treating postoperative pain resulting from bunionectomy were evaluated in 50 patients who were part of a larger cohort of orthopedic and podiatric patients. Following bunionectomy, the median time to rescue medication (survival analysis) was 4 hours 18 min (95% confidence interval, 3 hours 4 min to 4 hours 37 min) in the placebo group, 7 hours 5 min (95% confidence interval, 3 hours 20 min to >24 hours) in the 20-mg parecoxib sodium group, and 10 hours 43 min (95% confidence interval, 4 hours 42 min to 14 hours 7 min) in the 40-mg parecoxib sodium group (significant for 40-mg parecoxib sodium versus placebo). Four or more hours after surgery, the mean pain-intensity (categorical) score was significantly lower in both parecoxib sodium groups than in the placebo group. Preoperative administration of parecoxib sodium was well tolerated and significantly reduced postoperative pain in patients who had undergone bunionectomy.

Parecoxib sodium, an injectable COX-2-specific inhibitor, does not affect unfractionated heparin-regulated blood coagulation parameters.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for hemostatic interaction between a full analgesic dose of parecoxib sodium (parecoxib), a prodrug of the COX-2 specific inhibitor valdecoxib, and unfractionated heparin (UFH) in healthy male subjects. This open-label, single-center study comprised two treatment periods. In treatment period I, fasted, eligible subjects (n = 18) received a UFH bolus (4000 U) followed by a 36-hour UFH infusion (start dose 10-14 U/kg). Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT), and platelet counts were measured at regular intervals up to 24 hours after the end of the UFH infusion. After a 2-day washout, patients randomized to treatment period II received a full analgesic dosage of parecoxib 40 mg bid intravenously (IV) for 6 days (n = 18), with concomitant UFH (same regimen as treatment period I) on day 5 (n = 18). APTT, PT, and platelet counts were evaluated at regular intervals up to 24 hours after UFH infusion. Coadministration of parecoxib 40 mg bid IV with UFH (treatment period II) had no significant effect on aPTT, PT, or platelet counts, which were similar to those of participants receiving UFH alone (treatment period I) at all time points. These results show that a full analgesic dose of parecoxib, a COX-2-specific inhibitor available for parenteral administration, can be coadministered with UFH without affecting blood coagulation parameters. Therefore, parecoxib may be administered to patients who are receiving UFH for thromboprophylaxis.

Single doses of parecoxib sodium intravenously are as effective as ketorolac in reducing pain after oral surgery.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to compare the analgesic efficacy and safety of single doses of intravenous parecoxib sodium, a prodrug of the novel cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-selective inhibitor valdecoxib, with intravenous ketorolac and placebo in postoperative oral surgery patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligible patients experiencing moderate to severe pain within 6 hours of surgery to extract 2 or more impacted third molars were randomized to receive a single dose of parecoxib sodium 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 mg; ketorolac 30 mg; or placebo. Analgesic efficacy was assessed over a 24-hour treatment period or until rescue analgesia was required. RESULTS: Parecoxib sodium doses (particularly 50 and 100 mg) had a rapid onset of analgesia (within 11 minutes). The analgesic efficacy of parecoxib sodium 20 to 100 mg was similar to that of ketorolac 30 mg. Parecoxib sodium doses below 20 mg had suboptimal analgesic activity compared with placebo and ketorolac. A plateau of efficacy was observed at the parecoxib sodium 50-mg dose. Parecoxib sodium 50 and 100 mg had a significantly longer duration of analgesia than ketorolac 30 mg. All doses of parecoxib sodium were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Parecoxib sodium, a novel parenteral prodrug of the COX-2-selective inhibitor valdecoxib, is as effective and longer acting at 50- and 100-mg intravenous doses than a standard dose of ketorolac 30 mg intravenously. Parecoxib sodium appears to be safe and well tolerated and, therefore, merits further evaluation in other models of postsurgical pain.

Efficacy and safety of the cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors parecoxib and valdecoxib in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 provides analgesia in ambulatory patients. We prospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of a newly introduced cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery through a median sternotomy in a randomized clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 462 patients with New York Heart Association classes I to III who were less than 77 years of age and were from 58 institutions in the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom participated in this multicenter, phase III, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group trial. Patients were allocated at a ratio of 2:1 to parecoxib/valdecoxib or standard care (control) groups, respectively. Intravenous study drug (40 mg) was administered within 30 minutes after extubation and every 12 hours for a minimum of 3 days. Subsequently, oral treatment at a dose of 40 mg every 12 hours was initiated and administered for a combined total of 14 days. Patient-controlled analgesia with morphine, oral opioids, or acetaminophen was available as required. Assessment of the analgesic efficacy of the study drug was primarily based on morphine and morphine equivalent use. Additional efficacy evaluations included daily pain intensity, patient and physician global evaluation of study medication, and pain effect on quality of life. Clinical adverse events were assessed by the principal investigator at each site from the time of the first dose through the 30-day postdosing period. RESULTS: Patients in the parecoxib/valdecoxib group received significantly less morphine or morphine equivalents than patients in the control group during the 0- to 24-hour (P =.009), 24- to 48-hour (P =.017), 72- to 96-hour (P =.002), 96- to 120-hour (P =.004), and 120- to 144-hour (P =.037) periods. Both patients (P <.001) and physicians (P <.001) evaluated the study medication as significantly better than control therapy. The modified Brief Pain Inventory questionnaire used in the oral dosing period detected significant improvements in the parecoxib/valdecoxib treatment group in 6 of 8 domains tested (eg, current pain, worst pain, and mood) beginning on day 4 and continuing for at least 4 days. Although there were no differences between the groups in overall adverse events, serious adverse events occurred twice as frequently in parecoxib/valdecoxib-treated patients (19.0%, 59/311 patients) than in control patients (9.9%, 15/151 patients; P =.015). Regarding individual serious adverse events, a greater incidence in sternal wound infection was found in the parecoxib/valdecoxib patients (10 [3.2%]) versus control patients (0 [0%]) (P =.035). The incidences of other individual serious adverse events, including cerebrovascular complications, myocardial infarction, and renal dysfunction, were proportionally greater but not significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, the cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor combination, parecoxib/valdecoxib, was effective for postoperative analgesia. However, the 14-day treatment regimen also was associated with an increased incidence of serious adverse events overall and sternal wound infections in particular. Therefore our study raises important concerns requiring their comprehensive evaluation in a large-scale trial before these cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors are used in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Parecoxib sodium, a parenteral cyclooxygenase 2 selective inhibitor, improves morphine analgesia and is opioid-sparing following total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the opioid-sparing effectiveness, analgesic efficacy, and tolerability of postoperative administration of the parenteral cyclooxygenase 2 selective inhibitor, parecoxib sodium, in total hip arthroplasty patients. METHODS: This was a multicenter, multiple-dose, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to compare the opioid-sparing effects, analgesic efficacy, and tolerability of postoperative 20 and 40 mg intravenous parecoxib sodium with placebo in hip arthroplasty patients. The first dose of study medication was administered after surgery with an intravenous bolus dose of 4 mg morphine when patients first requested pain medication; remedication with the study medication occurred at 12 and 24 h. Subsequent morphine doses (1-2 mg) were administered by patient-controlled analgesia. Efficacy was assessed by total morphine used, pain relief and pain intensity, time to last dose of morphine, and Global Evaluation rating of the study medication. RESULTS: Parecoxib sodium, 20 and 40 mg, reduced the total amount of morphine required over 36 h by 22.1% (56.5 mg morphine) and 40.5% (43.1 mg morphine), respectively, compared with placebo (72.5 mg morphine; P < 0.01). Patients receiving 20 and 40 mg parecoxib sodium experienced significantly greater maximum pain relief compared with those in the placebo group (P < 0.05). Patients who received 20 and 40 mg parecoxib sodium discontinued PCA morphine earlier than patients receiving placebo and had significantly higher Global Evaluation ratings. Parecoxib sodium, 40 mg, plus morphine demonstrated a significantly lower incidence of fever and vomiting compared with placebo plus morphine. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of parecoxib sodium with PCA morphine resulted in significantly improved postoperative analgesic management as defined by reduction in opioid requirement, lower pain scores, reduced time on PCA morphine, and higher Global Evaluation ratings.

Efficacy and safety of intravenous parecoxib sodium in relieving acute postoperative pain following gynecologic laparotomy surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study tested the hypothesis that an injectable cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-specific inhibitor will be at least as effective and well tolerated as a COX-nonspecific conventional nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) by comparing the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of one intravenous dose of parecoxib sodium, an injectable prodrug of the novel COX-2-specific inhibitor, valdecoxib, with ketorolac and placebo in postoperative laparotomy surgery patients. Intravenous morphine, 4 mg, was studied as a positive analgesic control. METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, women experiencing moderate-to-severe pain on the first day after abdominal hysterectomy or myomectomy received one intravenous dose of parecoxib sodium, 20 or 40 mg, ketorolac, 30 mg, morphine, 4 mg, or placebo. Analgesic efficacy and tolerability were evaluated for 24 h postdose or until patients, whose pain was not adequately controlled, opted to receive rescue analgesia. RESULTS: Two hundred two patients were enrolled. All treatment groups had comparable demographics and baseline pain status. All active treatments had an equally rapid time to onset of analgesia (10-23 min). Overall, each parecoxib sodium dose and ketorolac were significantly superior to morphine and placebo for most measures of analgesic efficacy at most time points, including a significantly longer (two- to threefold) time to rescue analgesia (P

Intravenous parecoxib sodium foracute pain after orthopedic knee surgery.

Our objective in a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo- and active-controlled study was to evaluate and compare the analgesic effectiveness of single intravenous (IV) doses of parecoxib sodium 20 and 40 mg, morphine 4 mg, and ketorolac 30 mg in the postsurgical orthopedic pain model. After undergoing unilateral total knee replacement surgery, 208 healthy adult patients were randomized to receive placebo or a study drug within 6 hours of discontinuation of patient-controlled analgesia on postoperative day 1. Onset of analgesia was similarly rapid with IV parecoxib sodium 40 mg, morphine, and ketorolac. Level and duration of analgesia were significantly superior with parecoxib sodium than with morphine and were similar for parecoxib sodium and ketorolac. Parecoxib sodium was safe and well tolerated. In conclusion, IV parecoxib sodium 40 mg is as effective as ketorolac 30 mg and is more effective than morphine 4 mg and therefore has potential widespread utility in acute postoperative pain management.

Upper GI mucosal effects of parecoxib sodium in healthy elderly subjects.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the upper GI mucosal effects of i.v. parecoxib sodium with i.v. ketorolac tromethamine and placebo in healthy elderly subjects. METHODS: This was a two-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Healthy subjects aged 65-75 yr who were shown at baseline endoscopy to have no gastric or duodenal lesions received either parecoxib sodium 40 mg b.i.d. for 7 days, ketorolac 15 mg q.i.d. for 5 days, or placebo for 7 days. Endoscopy was repeated at the end of dosing. Measures of upper GI effects were: 1) ulceration, 2) incidence of an ulcer and/or any erosions, and 3) incidence of an ulcer and/or > or = 11 erosions in the stomach, duodenum, or both. RESULTS: No gastric or duodenal ulcers occurred in any subjects receiving parecoxib sodium (n = 29) or placebo (n = 32). In contrast, seven (23%) of the 31 ketorolac subjects had at least one ulcer; five (16%) had gastric ulcers, and two (6%) had duodenal ulcers (p < 0.05 vs parecoxib sodium and placebo for gastroduodenal ulcers and for gastric ulcers). A total of 28 (90%) ketorolac subjects had an ulcer or at least one erosion in the stomach, compared with incidences of four (14%) and two (6%) for parecoxib sodium and placebo, respectively. Incidences of duodenal ulcers/erosions were 45% (n = 14) for ketorolac, 10% (n = 3) for parecoxib sodium, and none for placebo. The differences between ketorolac and both other treatment groups were statistically significant for both stomach and duodenum. No parecoxib sodium or placebo subjects had an ulcer or > or = 11 erosions in the stomach, compared with eight (26%) ketorolac subjects (p < 0.05 vs both parecoxib sodium and placebo). No subject in any group had > or = 11 duodenal erosions. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that multiple dose administration of parecoxib sodium is safe and well tolerated in healthy elderly subjects, with a decreased risk of gastroduodenal mucosal injury compared with ketorolac.