In a new study, researchers found that the regular use of painkillers including ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac did not increase the risk of death from the disease.
They did the study during the height of UK hospital admissions from COVID-19.
The study is the first to report on routine non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and their impact on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in eight UK hospitals.
The research was conducted by a team from the University of Aberdeen and elsewhere.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been much speculation on the use of NSAIDs, which are commonly used drugs for pain and inflammation including ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac, and their potential role in negative outcomes for patients.
In the early stages of the crisis, a number of European authorities, including those in France and Belgium, issued federal reports suggesting that the use of NSAIDs in COVID-19 infection might adversely affect patients’ clinical course and recovery.
Current UK guidance through the Commission on Human Medicines states that there is insufficient evidence to establish a link between the use of ibuprofen and susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 or the worsening of its symptoms.
In the study, the team assessed the outcomes for more than 1,200 patients admitted to eight hospitals around the UK and found no clear evidence that routine NSAID use was associated with higher COVID-19 mortality.
Of those, 54 (4.4%) were routinely prescribed NSAIDs prior to admission and the team looked at the number, type, and dose of anti-inflammatory that each patient was taking prior to admission.
Topical NSAIDs such as ibuprofen gels were not included due to their low level of systemic absorption and consequential limited systemic effects.
The death rate for those who took NSAIDS was broadly similar to patients who did not, after controlling for other important risk factors such as age, and pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, smoking status, and kidney function.
The findings show no big negative effect of routine NSAID use on mortality in patients with COVID-19 infection.
Indeed, a modest beneficial effect of routine NSAID use on mortality may well exist.
The study has provided novel information into the impact of NSAID use and outcomes of COVID-19 disease, during a pandemic where there has been much uncertainty.
NSAIDs are one of the most commonly prescribed and used pain medications worldwide, for both acute pain and chronic conditions such as rheumatological diseases and osteoarthritis.
Based on the results, patients and clinicians should not associate the routine use of NSAIDs with an increased risk of mortality in COVID-19 disease, and so the team recommends that patients continue to comply with their baseline drug regime.
One author of the study is Dr. Eilidh Bruce, an Academic Trainee.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
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