[Adverse cutaneous reaction to celecoxib: 6 cases]

Our objective was to characterize adverse cutaneous reactions to celecoxib, a new non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

A retrospective study of 6 consecutive patients.

The average delay before the onset of the reaction was 10.2 days for patients taking the medication for the first time and 48 hours for one patient taking the drug for the second time. Two patients had fever. Patients presented with an exanthema and in most cases an edema of the face. Buccal mucosa was involved in two patients, and one patient had minimal blister lesions. In five of the six patients, minor and transitory biological abnormalities were found. The intrinsic imputability of the celecoxib was I3 (C3S2) in all the cases.

Our cases are similar to those reported by the French drug regulatory agency (Pharmacovigilance). Usually the adverse cutaneous reactions were not too severe, with maculo-papulo exanthema and edema of the face. The reactions due to celecoxib are more frequent than those due to other non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (7.5% versus 4.1%), but severe cases are rarely reported. Besides, an allergic history to sulphonamide contraindicates celecoxib. However celecoxib does not have the aromatic amine common to antibacterial sulphonamides, and there is no proof of cross reactions between these two families. Furthermore, this amine is usually associated with drug reaction severity, which could explain why severe cases due to celecoxib are rare.