Antipyretic Effects of Dipyrone Versus Ibuprofen Versus Acetaminophen in Children: Results of a Multinational, Randomized, Modified Double-Blind Study

Abstract

This study compared the antipyretic effectiveness of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and dipyrone in young children with fever. The results were based on a modified double-blind, randomized, multinational trial that evaluated 628 febrile children, aged 6 months to 6 years. All three drugs lowered temperature in the 555 patients completing the study. Temperature normalization rates in the ibuprofen and dipyrone groups (78% and 82%, respectively) were significantly higher than the acetaminophen group (68%, P = 0.004). After 4 to 6 hours, mean temperature in the dipyrone group was significantly lower than the other groups, demonstrating longer temperature normalization with dipyrone. All three drugs showed comparable tolerability profiles.