Safe use of meloxicam in clinical practice

Abstract

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – means of treatment of acute and chronic pain associated primarily with inflammatory changes, so this group of drugs is widely used in neurology, rheumatology, traumatology, etc. The mechanism of action of the drugs is associated with the effect on cyclooxygenase-2 (COG-2) and blockade of proinflammatory prostaglandins (PG) synthesis, as well as the effect on COG-1 and suppression of cytoprotective PG synthesis, which determines the possibility of side effects from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Now application of NPVP is focused not so much on increase of efficiency, as on their big safety. Creation of COG-2-selective inhibitors (meloxicam) and COG-2-high selective inhibitors (coxybes) allowed to reduce significantly the risk of complications from gastrointestinal tract while maintaining high efficiency. Thus, the safety profile of meloxicam, mainly inhibiting COG-2, is estimated in a whole series of studies. In particular, two large prospective controlled trials - MELISSA and SELECT - proved that meloxicam is less toxic to gastrointestinal tract than traditional NSAIDs. Thus, a reasonable conclusion can be made about the high efficacy of meloxicam, which is not inferior to that of non-selective NSAIDs, with good tolerability and safety of the drug against gastrointestinal tract.