NSAIDS

NSAIDS

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, does not lead to higher rates of death or severe disease in patients who are hospitalised with Covid-19, according to a new observational study of more than 72,000 people in the UK published in The Lancet Rheumatology journal.

Concept :

• NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are those medications used for reducing pain (analgesic), decreasing fever (anti-pyretic), preventing blood clots (anti-thrombotic) and decreasing inflammation (anti-inflammatory).
• NSAIDs are also used to treat non-inflammatory conditions such as migraine, period pain and postoperative pain, and to reduce fever.
• Some commonly used NSAIDs include: aspirin (such as Disprin), ibuprofen (such as Nurofen) , naproxen (such as Naprosyn), diclofenac (such as Voltaren), celecoxib (such as Celebrex).

Concerns about NSAID Use

• Certain ill effects are associated with long term or heavy use of NSAIDs. It increases the risk of kidney damage, longer prevalence of infections, longer time span in which the virus is shed, etc.
• While it reduces the fever, it does not tackle the actual infection. The lowered fever may short circuit the immune system’s defence against the infection.