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Ibuprofen Reduces Protective Effects of Aspirin

Posted: Thursday, September 28, 2006

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified healthcare professionals and consumers that taking ibuprofen for pain relief may interfere with the benefits of aspirin taken for heart disease.

Ibuprofen can interfere with the antiplatelet effect of low-dose aspirin (81 mg/day), which may render aspirin less effective when used for cardioprotection and stroke prevention, according to an alert from MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting program.

The FDA recommends that consumers contact their healthcare professional for more information on the timing of when to take these 2 medicines, so that both medicines can be effective.

In a note to healthcare professionals, the FDA gives the following advice:

With occasional use of ibuprofen, there is likely to be minimal risk from any attenuation of the antiplatelet effect of low-dose aspirin, because of the long-lasting effect of aspirin on platelets.

Patients who use immediate-release aspirin (not enteric-coated) and take a single dose of ibuprofen, 400 mg, should dose the ibuprofen at least 30 minutes or longer after aspirin ingestion, or more than 8 hours before aspirin ingestion to avoid attenuation of aspirin’s effect.

Recommendations about the timing of concomitant use of ibuprofen and enteric-coated low-dose aspirin cannot be made based upon available data, which has shown that the antiplatelet effect of enteric-coated low-dose aspirin is attenuated when 400 mg of ibuprofen is dosed 2, 7, and 12 hours after aspirin.

Other nonselective over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be viewed as having the potential to interfere with the antiplatelet effect of low-dose aspirin unless proven otherwise.

Analgesics that do not interfere with the antiplatelet effect of low-dose aspirin (such as acetaminophen or narcotics) should be considered for high-risk populations.

Source: Diabetes In Control: MedWatch.com