Key aspects of choosing antipyretic therapy in pediatric practice

Introduction. Currently, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects are widely used in clinical practice. Aim. To obtain additional data on the efficacy and safety of paracetamol and ibuprofen in children with acute respiratory infections accompanied by fever. Materials and methods . A single-center (observational) study was conducted involving 32 children (5.2 ± 1.8 years) with fever due to acute respiratory disease. At temperatures above 38.5 °C, an antipyretic in the form of forte was prescribed in an age-specific dosage according to the instructions for a course of 3 days. Patients of the first group (n = 16) were prescribed paracetamol against the background of standard therapy for the underlying disease according to the nosology, children of the second group – ibuprofen forte in syrup without fragrances, dyes and flavor additives. The average daily temperature, frequency and duration of taking the study drugs, the development of adverse reactions, a score of satisfaction with parents/legal representatives of the use of antipyretics and quality of life were taken into account. Results. The result of therapy was clinical improvement: normalization of temperature (below 37.2 °C) over time with analysis of average daily values after 1, 4 hours, 1, 2, 3 days. The patients of both groups did not need to take antipyretics after 10 hours in 47.1% of cases, after 18 hours – in 53.8%. Noted the absence of adverse drug and allergic reactions and drug rejection by children, which confirms their safety. The average satisfaction rating of parents/legal representatives was 4.87 ± 0.23 (96.2% rated the effects of the studied drugs as “satisfied” and “completely satisfied”). The quality of life improved significantly with normalization of temperature by the end of the 3 days (1.92 ± 0.07). Discussion . The drugs ibuprofen and paracetamol are safe for use in pediatric practice if the dosage rules are followed and are approved for use by the World Health Organization, the FDA and other expert organizations. In addition, the emergence of new forms of release of these drugs is most important in pediatrics. Conclusions. The study conducted allows us to state the effectiveness of paracetamol and ibuprofen in the form of tablets and forte without fragrances, dyes and flavors, when taken in the correct dosage, which resulted in the relief of fever against the background of acute respiratory infections and an improvement in the quality of life.