Is taking ibuprofen a risk for coronavirus patients? It depends on who you ask
The World Health Organization does not recommend against using ibuprofen to treat symptoms of coronavirus.
The announcement changes course from a WHO official’s statement this week as health experts argued about the use of ibuprofen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The debate began when French Health Minister Olivier warned against coronavirus patients using drugs like ibuprofen or aspirin, tweeting over the weekend that they could aggravate viral respiratory infections. He said anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are risky in treating fevers from COVID-19, Reuters reported.
Some health experts are calling Veran’s warning “fake news,” but others say they agree with the advice.
Meanwhile, some people are confused as they scramble for information about how to best protect themselves.
What WHO says about ibuprofen
A spokesman for the World Health Organization recommended Tuesday that people suffering from coronavirus avoid ibuprofen, AFP reported.
“In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as a self-medication. That’s important,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva, according to the outlet.
Paracetamol is also known as acetaminophen, the ingredient in Tylenol.
On Wednesday, WHO walked back the spokesman’s statement in a tweet.
Why the ibuprofen warning?
The French health minister’s warning followed a study published in The Lancet suggests “an enzyme boosted by anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen could facilitate and worsen COVID-19 infections,” AFP reported.
Dr. Tom Wingfield, senior lecturer and consultant physician at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said acetaminophen is the better choice due to a lower risk of side effects, British news outlet Sky News reported.
“Side effects associated with NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, especially if taken regularly for a prolonged period, are stomach irritation and stress on the kidneys, which can be more severe in people who already have stomach or kidney issues,” Wingfield said.
NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, also include drugs such as aspirin and naproxen sodium, the ingredient in Aleve.
Not enough research
The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases said there’s no evidence that ibuprofen is harmful in respiratory infections, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“More research is needed to evaluate reports that ibruprofen may affect the course of COVID-19,” the institute told the news outlet. “Currently, there is no evidence that ibuprofen increases the risk of serious complications or of acquiring the virus that causes COVID-19.”
Dr. Michele Barry, the director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford University, told The New York Times there’s no reason to stop temporary use of ibuprofen to treat coronavirus symptoms.
Another expert went so far as to call advice against using ibuprofen “fake news,” according to The New York Times.
“It’s all anecdote, and fake news off the anecdotes,” Dr. Garret FitzGerald, chairman of the pharmacology department at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told the outlet. “That’s the world we are living in.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Is taking ibuprofen a risk for coronavirus patients? It depends on who you ask."