Taking Celebrex May Interfere With Aspirin’s Anti-Clotting Effects, New Study Says

A new U.S. study suggests taking celecoxib, the arthritis pain drug sold under the brand name Celebrex, may prevent low-dose aspirin from preventing potentially fatal blood clots.

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan concluded that Celebrex can bind to COX-1, an enzyme that assists in clotting, and interferes with aspirin’s ability to block the enzyme and prevent blood clots from forming, according to a UPI news report.

Dangerous drug interactions are blamed for thousands of patient deaths and injuries each year. Many patients taking more than one medication do not know about all the possible complications and side effects which may occur. Some drugs cancel out the benefits of other drugs being taken, such as is the case with Celebrex and low-dose aspirin, allowing severe medical problems to occur.

Older Men at Particular Risk

People who take low-dose aspirin, especially men over the age of 50, should be cautioned that doing so along with taking Celebrex for arthritis or other pain may limit aspirin’s anti-clotting effects, the researchers said.

At particular risk are people who are taking Celebrex along with aspirin for cardiovascular problems such as unstable angina or are at risk for a second heart attack, the researchers said.

Animal studies have found more clumping of platelets, which is an early sign of clotting, in blood when Celebrex was given along with low-dose aspirin compared to animals given only low-dose aspirin, the researchers said. It is suspected the drug combination may have the same effect in people and doctors may want to adjust the dosing on Celebrex and low-dose aspirin in at-risk patients, the researchers said.

The study is published in the medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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