Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Over the past several months clinicians have been con-fronted at an escalating rate with reports describing the risks of COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs). Information on this class of drugs appears not only in traditional medical journals and textbooks, but also on the Web sites of regulatory agencies, professional societies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.1–9 An unusual, but noteworthy, aspect of the state of affairs is the high rate of reporting new findings and opinions (at times voiced in a strident tone) in the lay press.10–13 Understand-ably, patients are concerned about the potential risks associ-ated with their antiinflammatory medications, and now, either spontaneously or in response to a public health warning, call their healthcare professional with questions or arrive for an office visit armed with publicly accessed information they wish to discuss. Owing to the widespread use of antiinflammatory drugs
Antman et al. (2005) studied this question.