Researchers examined data from the California Department of Public Health on 180,000 infants, 6 months or younger, who received prescriptions for fever reducers. They assessed the risk of adverse events following the use of ibuprofen, including gastrointestinal effects, risk of renal failure and Reye’s Syndrome.
The study shows ibuprofen is not associated with more side effects in children younger than 6 months compared with those older than 6 months. However, researchers did find that compared to using only acetaminophen, ibuprofen was linked to some slight GI issues — 1.5 and 1.7 events per 10,000 infant days exposure respectively.
The FDA does not currently allow ibuprofen to be sold over-the-counter to parents for infants under the age of 6 months.
“My hope is that our data will allow doctors who care for children to be more comfortable in prescribing ibuprofen to those under the age of 6 months,” said Paul Walsh, MD, of Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, and lead study author.
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