Celecoxib (Cele) v placebo or NSAIDs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA)*
| Outcomes at 12–52 weeks | Patient group | Comparisons | Weighted event rates | RBI (95% CI) | NNT (CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Met ACR-20 responder criteria | RA | Cele v placebo | 38% v 26% | 49% (25 to 78) | 9 (6 to 14) |
| Cele v NSAIDs | 29% v 28%† | 4% (−20 to 36)† | Not significant | ||
| Improvement in numberof painful/tender joints | Cele v placebo | 48% v 34% | 39% (21 to 61) | 8 (6 to 13) | |
| Cele v NSAIDs | 44% v 40%† | 9% (−10 to 32)† | Not significant |
| RRI (CI) | NNH (CI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal because of any adverse effect | All | Cele v placebo | 8.8% v 6.2%† | 48% (15 to 92)† | 39 (24 to 117)† |
| Withdrawal because of GI adverse effect | Cele v placebo | 3.3% v 2.0% | 68% (7 to 165) | 80 (44 to 450) |
| RRR (CI) | NNT (CI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal because of any adverse effect | Cele v NSAIDs | 8.5% v 9.7% | 14% (−4 to 28) | Not significant | |
| Withdrawal because of GI adverse effect | Cele v NSAIDs | 3.6% v 6.3%† | 46% (29 to 58) | 37 (26 to 67)† |
| Mean difference (CI) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ACR-20 = American College of Rheumatology index; GI = gastrointestinal; NSAIDs = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; WOMAC = Western Ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis index. Other abbreviations defined in glossary; weighted event rates, NNT, NNH, and CI calculated from data in article using fixed effects. | |||||
| †Significant heterogeneity was present; a random effects model was used. | |||||
| ‡Statistically significant difference favouring celecoxib. | |||||
| WOMAC pain score (0–20) | OA | Cele v placebo | −1.35 (−1.74 to −0.97)‡ | ||
| Cele v NSAIDs | −0.01 (−0.73 to 0.72) † | ||||
| WOMAC joint stiffnessScore (0–8) | Cele v placebo | −0.65 (−0.80 to −0.49)‡ | |||
| Cele v NSAIDs | 0.06 (−0.11 to 0.22) | ||||