Association between yearly prescriptions for rofecoxib and celecoxib and incidence of myocardial infarctions.

<p>A) Scatter plot reveals the positive relationship between national prescriptions estimates for rofecoxib and celecoxib and hospitalizations due to myocardial infarction. Prescriptions for rofecoxib and celecoxib peaked in 2001 with 52,466,000. Incidence of stays due to myocardial infarction also peaked in 2001 with 62.3 hospitalizations per 10,000. B) Line graphs show the interrupted time series of myocardial infarction-related hospitalizations. Prescriptions for rofecoxib and celecoxib explained approximately 50.3 percent of the deviance in yearly variation of myocardial infarction related hospitalizations.</p

Cumulative sum (CUSUM) chart of monthly incidence of hospitalizations due to myocardial infarction from January 1, 1997 to March 30, 2006.

<p>Assigning 1997 and 1998 as a baseline period, a target mean of 47.1 hospitalizations due to myocardial infarctions per 100,000 and a standard deviation of 2.8 per 100,000.The threshold for CUSUM was calculated as 1.18, yielding an average-run-length of 50 (dashed red line). An aberration, two standard deviations from baseline, was initially detected in January of 2000, with a CUSUM value of 1.37 and 51.5 myocardial infarction-related hospitalization per 100,000 stays (solid line).</p

Yearly incidence in hospitalizations due to myocardial infarctions and corresponding national estimates of prescriptions for rofecoxib and celecoxib.

*<p>Unique patients hospitalized for a myocardial infarction, having being assigned a primary or admitting diagnosis of myocardial infarction (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 410).</p>†<p>Unique patients hospitalized at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital</p>‡<p>Total numbers of prescriptions dispensed were obtained from the freely available IMS Health annual report on Commonly Requested Therapeutic Class and Product Information. Estimates are derived from a national prescription sales database.</p>§<p>Incidence is calculated using the estimated underlying population market share coverage by both study hospitals</p