Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug toxicity monitoring and safety practices.

Objective: Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) related gastrointestinal (GI) and renal adverse events are commonly reported. Although published guidelines recommend periodic laboratory monitoring, NSAID safety practices of physicians have not been investigated at a population level. We examined the associations of physician specialty and patient characteristics with NSAID safety practices.

The effects of physician specialty and patient comorbidities on the use and discontinuation of coxibs.

Objective: To examine the effects of physician specialty and comorbidities on cyclooxygenase 2-selective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; coxibs) utilization.

Methods: Medical records of 452 patients from a regional managed care organization with >/=3 consecutive NSAID prescriptions from June 1998 to April 2001 were abstracted. Multivariable adjusted associations between coxib initiation and discontinuation and patient and provider characteristics were examined.