Doctors will test ibuprofen to see whether it reduces respiratory failure in patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19
British doctors are trialing anti-inflammatory ibuprofen formulations to see if it decreases respiratory dysfunction in patients with serious COVID-19 symptoms.
The trial includes a different formulation of ibuprofen, which has been shown to be more successful than standard ibuprofen for treating extreme acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a complication of COVID-19, researchers said. The formulation is already approved for further use in Britain.
The experiment, known as "LIBERATE," will be a randomized study of up to 230 patients planned to be enrolled in the coming months. The experiment will be performed by Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, King's College London (KCL) and the SEEK Community pharmaceutical organization.
In March 2020, According to France's health minister people will not use anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen if they have COVID-19 symptoms, the disease caused by the latest coronavirus. However, the U.S., British and European Union drug authorities and Reckitt Benckiser, which manufactures Nurofen, have all said that there is no proof that ibuprofen manufactures COVID-19 worse.
Mitul Mehta, director of KCL 's Center for Innovative Therapeutics, said that ibuprofen-related possible well-known gastric side effects meant paracetamol was better to relieve. But he added that there was no evidence to back up the French claims that ibuprofen worsens the symptoms of COVID-19, saying that the formulation used in the trial should lessen the potential side effects.
