Contrary to what doctors feared at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, taking anti-inflammatories does not increase the risk of having a severe form of covid-19, nor of dying from it. A study of 72,000 patients and published in The Lancet rheumatologynoted that the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), in particular ibuprofen, does not exacerbate the symptoms of Covid-19.
NSAIDs have long been thought to be an aggravating factor
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to treat fever or pain, especially in patients with chronic pain. In this large family of drugs, there are those based on ketoprofen but especially (the most widespread) those based on ibuprofen. “Taking anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, cortisone, etc.) could be a factor in aggravating the infection. In the event of a fever, take paracetamol. If you are already on anti-inflammatories or in the event of doubt, ask your doctor for advice” had stated the Minister of Health Olivier Véran at the very beginning of the pandemic. The WHO had also advised to favor paracetamol. For its part, the European Health Agency the European Medicines Agency (EMA) remained more cautious, explaining that there was not sufficient evidence of a correlation between taking NSAIDs and worsening of the Covid-19.
A follow-up of 60% of patients admitted to hospital for covid-19
For this study, researchers at the University of Edinburgh followed patients from of 255 UK healthcare facilities, i.e. “around 60% of all patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in the UK during the study period from 17 January to 10 August 2020″. They analyzed the association between exposure to NSAIDs and severe forms of covid-19, including mortality, admission to intensive care, need for invasive ventilation, need for oxygen, and acute kidney injury.” None of these findings were significantly associated with exposure to NSAIDs within 2 weeks prior to hospital admission,” they conclude.
“A significant subanalysis of the type of NSAID used also did not indicate an increased risk of mortality in patients taking ibuprofen compared to those taking no NSAIDs,” they add.
Source : Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use in COVID-19The Lancet Rheumatology, May 7, 2021
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