Common Fever Medicines Cause Kidney Injury in Children

Some medicines commonly used to treat fever in children can be damaging to the kidney, a new study says.

A team of researchers from Indiana University of Medicine and Butler University initiated to examine the hidden risks associated with administering non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen to children suffering from fever.

To reach a conclusion, Jason Misurac and colleagues used medical records at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The data included information about more than 1,000 children who were treated for acute kidney injury between 1999 and 2010.

Investigators found about 2.7 percent of the cases resulting from the painkiller use. The next effort was to find out the dosage of these medicines that led to this occurrence. Surprisingly, researchers found that all the participants affected with kidney injury received only recommended dosages.

Apart from that, researchers found that children who experienced dehydration due to their illness (vomiting/diarrhea) were at higher risks of kidney failure than others, when the medicines were administered. These drugs lower the blood flow to the kidneys, thus affecting the normal function of the kidneys, researchers explained.

"These cases, including some in which patients' kidney function will need to be monitored for years, as well as the cost of treatment, are quite significant, especially when you consider that alternatives are available and acute kidney injury from NSAIDs is avoidable," Dr. Misurac, a fellow in pediatric nephrology, said in a news release.

There is nothing to worry about fever, as it is only a symptom of the body fighting an infection, they tell parents.

According to Dr. Misurac, "one alternative to NSAIDs would be acetaminophen, but another alternative would be no medication at all, at least for a while, to let the body fight the infection."

The study has been published in the Journal of Pediatrics.