Ibuprofen Should Be Avoided in Case of Coronavirus, Says Medical Authority

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A statement by France’s Health Minister based on a study published this week in the scientific journal Lancet raised a warning that the use of anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen could exacerbate coronavirus infection.

The alert spread on social media yesterday, causing doubts. Brazilian experts say that although there is no robust scientific evidence of this association, it is best to avoid using the drug in Covid-19 cases while conducting further research.

According to the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC), ibuprofen should be avoided as it increases the levels of a receptor that eases the entrance of the virus into the cells. “The study provides a preliminary, hypothetical scenario that this receptor would ease the entry of the virus into the cell.

This recommendation not to use it, therefore, is preventive, because we have alternative medications to treat the symptoms,” explains Ludhmila Abrahão Hajjar, director of Science, Technology, and Innovation at SBC.

Celso Granato, a professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and medical director of the Fleury Group, shares a similar opinion. He believes the association between the use of the drug and the worsening of the disease is still preliminary because it has not been described in many studies, but when in doubt, he says, the recommendation is to avoid using the drug. “If it were my patient, I wouldn’t administer ibuprofen, I would choose other medications,” he explains.

According to the French Health Minister, Olivier Verán, who issued the warning, “taking anti-inflammatory medications (ibuprofen, cortisone…) may be a factor that aggravates the infection. “If you run a fever, take paracetamol. If you are already taking anti-inflammatory medications or are in doubt, see your doctor,” he wrote.

Nancy Bellei, a consultant with the Brazilian Society of Infectology, explains that the evidence that non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, aggravate Covid-19 cases is still flimsy, but she explains that there are already several studies proving that hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs, known as corticosteroids, are known to aggravate coronavirus infections. Thus, she alerts, medicines such as prednisone and dexamethasone should not be used in coronavirus cases.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo