efficacy and comparative risk of side effects

Last reviewed 01/2018

  • no more effective than existing NSAIDs e.g. ibuprofen

  • no convincing evidence that the risk of severest GI side effects (e.g. development of peptic ulcer disease, GI bleeding, peptic ulcer perforation) is lower with meloxicam than other NSAIDs

  • there is evidence that when meloxicam is used in the lower dose of 7.5 mg daily it appears less likely than some NSAID formulations to cause nausea, dyspepsia, abdominal pain and diarrhoea; when used at the higher dose of 15 mg daily the risk of unwanted effects increases (1)

Reference:

  • (1) Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (1998), 36 (8), 62-4.