Antipyretic efficacy of acetaminophen and ibuprofen in children aged 6 months to 10 years

Introduction: Fever and consequent convulsion are among major concerns for
parents of febrile children. Many antipyretic drugs are applied excessively to
decrease fever in children. This research is designed to study the efficacy and
stability effects of cetaminophen and Ibuprofen in febrile children aged 6 months to
10 years old.
Methods: This single-blind clinical trial study was performed on 360 children (aged
6 months to 10 years) referring to pediatric emergency department. The cases were
divided equally and randomly into two groups, allocated to receive either 15mg/kg
Acetaminophen or 10mg/kg Ibuprofen. Including criteria was oral temperature of 38-
400c or rectal temperature of 38.5-40.50c. Temperatures were recorded at the time of
admission, 2, 4 and 6 hours after receiving antipyretic drug. Data was analyzed by
SPSS software. T-tests and chi-square test were used for statistical comparisons.
Results: Findings revealed that mean temperatures on admission were 39.01±0.70c
and 39.03±0.690c in the Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen groups, respectively, showing
no significant difference. Mean temperatures at 2 hours after initiation of treatment in
Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen groups were 38.78±0.920c and 37.25±0.780c,
respectively (P<0.0001). After 6 hours, the temperatures were 37.36±0.920c and
36.99±0.050c (P<0.002). Overall, stability of antipyretic effect of Ibuprofen was
more than Acetaminophen.
Conclusion: Results indicate that Ibuprofen is more effective than Acetaminophen in
maximum decline in temperature and its stability in lowering temperature is better
than Acetaminophen. It is suggested that Ibuprofen be used as an antipyretic in
children older than 6 months when Acetaminophen can not control fever or more
stable antipyretic is expected.