N. Moore, B. Carleton, P. Blin, P. Bosco-Lévy, C. Droz
Drug Safety, 2020
In March 2020, the French authorities warned against the use of ibuprofen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms [1, 2]. This advice was based on unconfirmed anecdotal reports that severe COVID-19 cases had been exposed to ibuprofen [3] and on the theories described below. In particular, concern surrounded a possible increased expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-2 receptor [4], which is the target for cell penetration of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [5]. This was reported on by the BMJ [6–8] and resulted in an 80% decrease in the use of ibuprofen in France [9]. The European Medicines Agency urged prudence [10]. The World Health Organization initially recommended not using ibuprofen, then relented [11]. Similarly, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK reversed their initial recommendation to avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) [12], concluding “There is currently no evidence that the acute use of NSAIDs causes an increased risk of developing COVID-19 or of developing a more severe COVID-19 disease.” The Italian Society of Pharmacology released a statement along the same lines [13]. Among all NSAIDs, ibuprofen was probably targeted because it is widely used and available over the counter (OTC), unlike other NSAIDs in France. The bases for the French Ministry’s decision appear to be as follows:
Cited by 27 publications.
Field of study: Medicine