Table 1.
Population size
| Comparisons | Database | Target cohort | Comparator cohort | All patients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-pandemic enrolment (Nov 2019–Jan 2020) | ||||
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | PharMetrics Plus | 118,841 | 60,347 | 179,188 |
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | Open Claims | 930,231 | 393,788 | 1,324,019 |
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | Combined | 1,049,072 | 454,135 | 1,503,207 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | PharMetrics Plus | 82,742 | 508,085 | 590,827 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | Open Claims | 640,574 | 2,708,452 | 3,349,026 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | Combined | 723,316 | 3,216,537 | 3,939,853 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | PharMetrics Plus | 87,305 | 338,249 | 425,554 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | Open Claims | 611,173 | 2,756,871 | 3,368,044 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | Combined | 698,478 | 3,095,120 | 3,793,598 |
| Pandemic enrolment (Feb 2020–Oct 2020) | ||||
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | PharMetrics Plus | 211,088 | 98,905 | 309,993 |
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | Open Claims | 1,574,159 | 649,594 | 2,223,753 |
| Ibuprofen vs COX-2i | Combined | 1,785,247 | 748,499 | 2,533,746 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | PharMetrics Plus | 150,744 | 869,877 | 1,020,621 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | Open Claims | 1,105,008 | 4,391,839 | 5,496,847 |
| Ibuprofen vs ns-NSAIDs | Combined | 1,255,752 | 5,261,716 | 6,517,468 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | PharMetrics Plus | 163,801 | 536,024 | 699,825 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | Open Claims | 1,102,235 | 4,173,434 | 5,275,669 |
| Ibuprofen vs paracetamol | Combined | 1,266,036 | 4,709,458 | 5,975,494 |
Number of patients in the PharMetrics Plus and Open Claims databases that satisfied the cohort inclusion criteria of this study. Cohorts included patients with a history of osteoarthritis or back pain who are prescribed ibuprofen (target cohort) or a COX-2i, ns-NSAID or paracetamol (comparator cohorts). For each comparison pair, persons were excluded from a cohort if they had a recent record of the alternative drug. Cohorts were split into two enrolment periods; a pre-pandemic period where the index event occurred between November 2019 and January 2020, and a pandemic period where the index event occurred between February 2020 and October 2020
COX-2i cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, ns-NSAIDs non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs