Anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions of etoricoxib (an NSAID) combined with misoprostol.

This study has evaluated the anti-inflammatory and analgesic responses of etoricoxib, a selective COX-2 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug combined with misoprostol in pre-clinical assays. Groups of animals (mice and rats) were subjected to rat's paw edema induced by carrageenan, and writhing and formalin tests in mice. Treatment with etoricoxib, misoprostol, and etoricoxib combined with misoprostol inhibited the inflammation process by 35 %, 30 %, and 61 %, respectively in the rat paw edema induced by carrageenan with the greatest effects being obtained in the group treated with etoricoxib combined to misoprostol. In the writhing test, etoricoxib inhibited the number of writhes by 33 %, and by 27 % when combined with misoprostol. In the first phase of the formalin test (nociceptive), treatment with the combination of etoricoxib and misoprostol inhibited significantly this process by 45 %, while in the second phase (inflammatory), etoricoxib inhibited this by 97 %, the etoricoxib + misoprostol inhibited this by 78 %, respectively. The responses observed have demonstrated that the combination of etoricoxib and misoprostol increased the anti-inflammatory response, but it did not show effect in the peripheral analgesic response.