Phew!

While the case had caused a stir when the epidemic arrived in Europe, a study published this Saturday claims the opposite: taking anti-inflammatory drugs from the ibuprofen family does not increase the risk of a serious form of Covid-19 or to die from it, contrary to what was feared at the start of the pandemic.

NSAIDs are a family of anti-inflammatory drugs widely used by the general public for fever with pain. It includes in particular ibuprofen (active substance in widely used medicines, such as Nurofen or Advil) or ketoprofen. Fears over NSAIDs emerged at the start of the Covid pandemic. They were nourished by the fact that this family of drugs is also suspected of worsening infections, especially bacterial.

"Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone ...) could be a factor of aggravation of the infection" at Covid, had tweeted in March 2020 the French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, advising to favor paracetamol in case of fever.

In the process, the WHO had recommended to people with symptoms similar to those of Covid not to take ibuprofen for self-medication, without a medical prescription.

A study involving 72,000 patients

"The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is not associated with an increase in mortality or the severity of Covid-19", concludes this large study by the British health authorities, published in the medical journal

The Lancet Rheumatology

and involving 72,000 patients. "We now have clear evidence that NSAIDs can be used safely in patients with Covid-19," commented lead author of the study, Prof Ewen Harrison (University of Edinburgh), cited in a press release.

“NSAIDs are widely used around the world in many situations, ranging from mild pain to the treatment of chronic diseases,” such as rheumatoid arthritis.

“Many people rely on them to be able to carry out their daily activities,” recalls the researcher.

The study authors examined data from 72,000 Covid patients admitted to 255 health centers in England, Scotland and Wales between January and August 2020. Of these, 4,211 had taken NSAIDs (mainly ibuprofen) before hospitalization.

According to the study, the proportion of deaths was similar in patients who took NSAIDs and those who did not (30.4% and 31.3%).

Self-medication, a practice that is developing despite the pitfalls

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