Taking anti-inflammatory drugs from the ibuprofen family does not increase the risk of developing a severe form of Covid-19 or of dying from it, contrary to what was feared at the start of the pandemic, according to a study published this Saturday.
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"
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.
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.
"
No scientific evidence
"
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
" to the Covid, had tweeted in March 2020 the French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, advising to privilege 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. For its part, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) underlined that “
there is currently no scientific evidence establishing a link between ibuprofen and the worsening of Covid-19
”.
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%).
In addition, "
at the time of admission to the hospital, we observed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the severity of the patient's condition
," the researchers write.
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However, they concede the existence of certain limits to their work.
Among them, the fact that we do not know for how long the patients had taken NSAIDs, nor if they were taking them for the long term for chronic diseases or occasionally for transient pain.