Pre-Hospital Ibuprofen Administration among Children in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is used to relieve pain, fever, and inflammation and is often procured over the counter and given to children before presentation at the hospital. Objective of the Study: To determine the prevalence of pre-hospital use of ibuprofen, preferred formulation, appropriateness of dosing and factors associated with its use. Methodology: An observational cross sectional study involving 401 caregiver/child pair seen at the Paediatric clinic of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital over six months. Data on demography, clinical symptoms and weights of the children were obtained using semi-structured questionnaires. Informed consent was obtained from caregivers. Results: A total of 401 caregivers/child pairs participated in the research with a male predominance. The average age of the children was 28.26±3.80 months. Most of the parents were aged 30-40 years, traders/business people with tertiary level of education. Thirty nine children (9.7%) received ibrofen before coming to the hospital. The most common reasons for administering ibuprofen were fever, cough and body pain. Syrup formulation was preferred, mostly given twice daily and for less than seven days. The most common reason for choice of formulation was the age of the child. Majority of the parents gave the medication based on past experiences. About 83% of parents gave an appropriate dose while 13% gave an overdose to their children. Conclusion: Pre-hospital ibuprofen self-medication is common with syrup formulation being the most common form given. There was a high abuse of ibuprofen use thus education of the populace is advocated.