Etoricoxib — 15 years in Russia: the main results in the treatment of rheumatic diseases

Background. According to epidemiological studies, chronic musculoskeletal pain affects more than 30% of people worldwide, causing a huge personal and social burden. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are widely used to treat musculoskeletal pain. The drug etoricoxib, highly selective for COX-2, is characterized by linear pharmacodynamics, that is, its effect directly depends on the dose, and the wide range of doses registered for use (from 30 to 120 mg per day) makes it possible to effectively suppress both acute and chronic pain with various diseases. Results. This review provides information on the use of etoricoxib in osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee or hip, including in elderly patients; in the treatment of low back pain, one of the most common causes of decreased productivity worldwide; in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, as well as gout. It has been shown that the selective COX-2 inhibitor etoricoxib has pronounced anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity and has a number of undeniable advantages not only over non-selective COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors, but also over selective COX-2 inhibitors, being the most highly selective among them. The drug has the same pharmacokinetic parameters in both young patients and the elderly, which simplifies its administration to patients in older age groups, and, in addition, etoricoxib is rapidly absorbed when taken orally. Important characteristics of etoricoxib include its safety in relation to the gastrointestinal tract. The availability of a range of therapeutic doses of etoricoxib makes it possible to effectively treat acute and chronic pain in various diseases affecting the structures of the musculoskeletal system and perioperative pain.