The prospects of these medicines will be modified to include warnings about the risks detected
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has warned of the problems that prolonged use of medicines containing ibuprofen and codeine can cause. The combination of these two active ingredients, used for the treatment of pain, can cause “serious kidney and gastrointestinal damage, even fatal, especially when they are taken for longer and at higher doses than recommended”, the Pharmacovigilance Committee of this organism.
The
EMA states that in recent months there have been several deaths related to drugs containing ibuprofen and codeine. According to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) none of these cases have been registered in Spain. According to the Ministry of Health, the combination of ibuprofen and codeine is the tenth most used type of opioid in Spain, although the trend in its use is downward.
The prospects of these medicines will be modified
Currently, in Spain, three authorized medicines that use this formulation are for sale in pharmacies, according to the General Council of Pharmacists Associations. These medications are:
– Neobrufen with Codeine (another codeine-free version is marketed that is not affected by this alert)
– Astefor in capsules and Astefor in sachets.
These medications contain 400 milligrams of ibuprofen and 30 milligrams of codeine. The purchase of this type of treatment that combines ibuprofen and codeine can only be done with a prescription.
The joint use of this treatment has the advantage that the use of both has a greater therapeutic effect and makes it possible to deal with moderate pain without having to resort to other more powerful opioids. The use of these drugs is only justified for short periods of time. In addition, the EMA warns that the repetition of this combined treatment of ibuprofen and codeine can create dependency in the patient, which can increase the risk of side effects.
This notice from the EMA will mean that the prospectuses of these medicines will be modified to include warnings about the risks detected, something that has already begun to be done.
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