Celecoxib in the Management of Acute Renal Colic: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Objectives To evaluate the efficacy of celecoxib as an analgesic and medical expulsive agent in acute renal colic. Methods A prospective randomized double-blind study was conducted on patients presenting with an obstructing ureteral calculus 1.8), urinary tract infection, or significant cardiovascular disease were excluded. Results A total of 57 patients provided consent of which 53 completed the study. Four patients were excluded from the analysis because of stone passage or withdrawal of consent before the first dose of study medication. No significant difference was noted in the spontaneous stone passage rate (celecoxib 55.2%, placebo 54.2%) and between celecoxib and placebo with regard to days to stone passage (7.0 vs 9.0, P = .6) or size of stone passed (3.9 vs 4.6 mm, P = .18). No significant difference was noted in pain analog scores (2.6 vs 3.5, P = .71) or narcotic doses (13.2 vs 13.6, P = .74). Furthermore, a 25% decrease in narcotic use (or 19 mg based on placebo mean) was outside the 80% one-sided confidence interval for the change in mean narcotic use between the 2 groups. Thus, it is unlikely ( Conclusions Celecoxib does not facilitate stone passage or decrease narcotic requirements in patients with acute renal colic.