Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma

Background Antipyretics are widely prescribed in pediatric practice. Some reports have mentioned that acetaminophen and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs may negatively affect asthma control by causing asthma exacerbation (AE). However, many confounding factors can also influence the risks. We ass...

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Main Authors: Lin-Shien Fu, Che-Chen Lin, Chia-Yi Wei, Ching-Heng Lin, Yung-Chieh Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2019-04-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/6760.pdf
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author Lin-Shien Fu
Che-Chen Lin
Chia-Yi Wei
Ching-Heng Lin
Yung-Chieh Huang
author_facet Lin-Shien Fu
Che-Chen Lin
Chia-Yi Wei
Ching-Heng Lin
Yung-Chieh Huang
author_sort Lin-Shien Fu
collection DOAJ
description Background Antipyretics are widely prescribed in pediatric practice. Some reports have mentioned that acetaminophen and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs may negatively affect asthma control by causing asthma exacerbation (AE). However, many confounding factors can also influence the risks. We assessed the impact of using acetaminophen or ibuprofen on AE in asthmatic children, especially those with strong risk factors. Methods We used the 2010 Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and identified 983 children with persistent asthma aged 1–5 years old; among them, 591 used acetaminophen alone and 392 used ibuprofen alone in 2010. Then, we analyzed the risk of AE over 52 weeks in the patients with and without severe AE in the previous year. Results The ibuprofen group had a higher risk of an emergency room (ER) visit or hospitalization for AE (odds ratio (OR) = 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.17–3.76], P = 0.01). Among asthmatic children who had severe AE in the previous year, the risk of AE was higher in the ibuprofen group than in the acetaminophen group (OR = 3.28, 95% CI [1.30–8.29], P = 0.01), where as among those who did not, the risks of AE were similar between the acetaminophen and ibuprofen groups (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [0.71–3.25], P = 0.28). Conclusions Among young asthmatic children, use of ibuprofen was associated with a higher risk of AE than acetaminophen, if they had severe AE with ER visit or hospitalization in the previous year. Pediatricians should use antipyretics among children with asthma after a full evaluation of the risk.
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spelling doaj.art-4f9d73c3a6cc43c39dfe3211b9df93132023-12-02T21:53:40ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-04-017e676010.7717/peerj.6760Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthmaLin-Shien Fu0Che-Chen Lin1Chia-Yi Wei2Ching-Heng Lin3Yung-Chieh Huang4Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanBackground Antipyretics are widely prescribed in pediatric practice. Some reports have mentioned that acetaminophen and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs may negatively affect asthma control by causing asthma exacerbation (AE). However, many confounding factors can also influence the risks. We assessed the impact of using acetaminophen or ibuprofen on AE in asthmatic children, especially those with strong risk factors. Methods We used the 2010 Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and identified 983 children with persistent asthma aged 1–5 years old; among them, 591 used acetaminophen alone and 392 used ibuprofen alone in 2010. Then, we analyzed the risk of AE over 52 weeks in the patients with and without severe AE in the previous year. Results The ibuprofen group had a higher risk of an emergency room (ER) visit or hospitalization for AE (odds ratio (OR) = 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.17–3.76], P = 0.01). Among asthmatic children who had severe AE in the previous year, the risk of AE was higher in the ibuprofen group than in the acetaminophen group (OR = 3.28, 95% CI [1.30–8.29], P = 0.01), where as among those who did not, the risks of AE were similar between the acetaminophen and ibuprofen groups (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [0.71–3.25], P = 0.28). Conclusions Among young asthmatic children, use of ibuprofen was associated with a higher risk of AE than acetaminophen, if they had severe AE with ER visit or hospitalization in the previous year. Pediatricians should use antipyretics among children with asthma after a full evaluation of the risk.https://peerj.com/articles/6760.pdfNHIRDAsthmaAcute exacerbationIbuprofenAcetaminophenTaiwan
spellingShingle Lin-Shien Fu
Che-Chen Lin
Chia-Yi Wei
Ching-Heng Lin
Yung-Chieh Huang
Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
PeerJ
NHIRD
Asthma
Acute exacerbation
Ibuprofen
Acetaminophen
Taiwan
title Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
title_full Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
title_fullStr Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
title_full_unstemmed Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
title_short Risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
title_sort risk of acute exacerbation between acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children with asthma
topic NHIRD
Asthma
Acute exacerbation
Ibuprofen
Acetaminophen
Taiwan
url https://peerj.com/articles/6760.pdf
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