“Our findings show a clear advantage for the coxib, but the question is, is it worth it [the additional cost]? Is it economically feasible?” Dr. Goldstein also stressed that the results from CONDOR do not apply to patients with an elevated cardiovascular risk, including those on a chronic aspirin regimen.
An accompanying editorial agreed that the CONDOR study is “the first large, double-blind, randomized clinical trial to assess upper and lower gastrointestinal events in patients needing chronic NSAID therapy.” The editorial authors, Dr. Elham Rahme and Dr. Sasha Bernatsky of McGill University in Montreal, called the 6-month duration of CONDOR “short” and “a drawback” that “hinders extrapolation to long-term treatment. The editorial also called “premature” the suggestion by Dr. Goldstein and his coauthors to revise existing recommendations for selecting NSAID therapy based on CONDOR's results (Lancet 2010;376:146-8).