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Questioning the Accuracy of a Recent Review of Osteoporosis Medications
- Laura N. Kuhl, BA;
- Bruce Ettinger, MD;
- Clifford J. Rosen, MD; and
- Nananda F. Col, MD, MPP, MPH
- From Maine Medical Center, Scarborough, ME 04074; University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110; and Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME 04101.
TO THE EDITOR:
Because the choice of osteoporosis drugs often depends on their nonskeletal effects, it is important that clinicians have access to accurate information about their benefits and risks. In this regard, the article by MacLean and colleagues (1) fails in several respects.
MacLean and colleagues report that ibandronate protects against upper gastrointestinal perforations, ulcers, and bleeding (odds ratio, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.14 to 0.74]). This finding is based on 2 studies (2, 3), neither of which reports a difference between ibandronate and placebo.
In addition, the authors did not include important benefits and risks of some …
