This page shows what was measured, who it was measured in, and what that does not settle.
What Ibuprofen does in the body
Pain, fever and inflammation
Damaged tissue releases prostaglandins, chemical messengers that make nerve endings fire more easily and blood vessels leak. Ibuprofen sits in the channel of the two enzymes that build prostaglandins and blocks it, so less of the messenger is made and the same injury signals less pain, less swelling and less fever. The catch is that those enzymes are not only in injured tissue: the same block thins the protective mucus in the stomach, reduces blood flow to the kidney when the body is already short of fluid, and occupies the exact site inside platelets that low-dose aspirin needs to reach. Unlike aspirin, ibuprofen lets go of the enzyme again, so the effect lasts hours rather than the life of the platelet.
What happened in people
52% of postoperative patients achieved at least 50% of maximum pain relief over six hours on a single 400 mg dose, against 7% on placebo (Cochrane CD010210)
✎ Source-linked record
Where this came from
A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.
The recorded finding that sits closest to something a person would notice. Written into the record, not signed off, and it carries no population or interval.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
That over-the-counter doses and durations carry a negligible share of the risk measured at arthritis doses — a downward extrapolation, never itself the subject of an outcome trial
Where it acts
The hydrophobic cyclooxygenase channel of COX-1 and COX-2 — in inflamed peripheral tissue, in the stomach lining, in the kidney medulla and in circulating platelets, all at once
Kind of result
Symptoms and quality of life
Supervision
Professional supervision is normally required. A regulator classifies this substance in a way that restricts how it is supplied.
Where each sentence above came from
No recorded sentence describes the change this makes in a way that stands on its own. The page opens with what it is taken for instead, and the recorded explanation follows below.
Shown as the opening line on this page.
A limit recorded against this substance. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.
The four opening statements run to 154 words.
Words this page uses
Four words worth knowing first
Chosen from what this page shows, with each one explained before the word it depends on.
Stand-in result
A stand-in result is a number measured because the real result takes too long.
A picture of it, and where the picture fails
It is like judging a journey by the speedometer rather than by arriving.
Where that stops being true. Speed does predict arrival. Many stand-in results do not predict the real one.
What people get wrong. A stand-in result is often reported as the result itself.
A surrogate endpoint substituted for a clinical endpoint, valid only where the substitution has been shown to hold.
Randomisation
Randomisation means chance decides who gets which treatment.
A picture of it, and where the picture fails
It is like a coin toss deciding the groups.
Where that stops being true. A coin toss is fair once. Fairness here comes from doing it for everyone.
What people get wrong. It is thought to make groups identical. It makes them similar on average, including on things nobody measured.
Allocation of participants to arms by a chance process, so that unmeasured factors are balanced in expectation.
Confidence interval
A confidence interval is the range the true answer is likely to sit in.
A picture of it, and where the picture fails
It is like a weather forecast giving a range rather than one number.
Where that stops being true. A forecast range covers tomorrow. This one covers what the study could resolve.
What people get wrong. The middle number is read as the answer. A range crossing zero means no change is still possible.
An interval estimate that would contain the true parameter in a stated proportion of repeated studies.
Pathway
A pathway is a chain of steps inside a cell, each one setting off the next.
A picture of it, and where the picture fails
A pathway is like a row of dominoes.
Where that stops being true. Dominoes fall one way. Pathways loop back and can switch themselves off.
What people get wrong. Changing one step is read as changing the outcome. Other steps often absorb it.
An ordered series of molecular interactions producing a defined cellular change.
What happened in people◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What was measured, goal by goal
One row for each goal a registered study measured something for. One column for each kind of thing that could be measured.
Registered studies list 40 outcome measures that RNAWiki could read. A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. 0 of the matched studies tested this substance, and 0 posted a result.
There is no single score. A strong test result and a weak life result are different facts.
Goals down the side, kinds of measurement across the top. Each cell says what kind of thing was registered, not what was found.
Goal
Life outcome
What a body can do
How a person feels
A test result
A step in the body
Harms
How long
Who was studied
Pain
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.
…Waiting for a reviewer11 registered symptom measure.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a test result for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.
—Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.
—Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.
…Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Muscle
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.
△Only a number moved1 registered test measure.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.
—Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.
—Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.
…Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Strength
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.
…Waiting for a reviewer1 registered performance measure of this kind.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a test result for this goal.
∅Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.
—Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.
—Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.
…Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Which registered measures put each goal on this table
Pain
time to a 50 reduction in reported pain intensity; sum pain intensity; pain; womac pain subscale; analgesic efficacy; sum pain intensity spi; pain intensity difference at end of study; pain scores
Muscle
gain in lean body mass
Strength
muscle strength and hypertrophy
Sorted by fixed word lists, version v1. A name the rules do not recognise stays unsorted rather than moving to the nearest column.
What each mark on this table means
∅ Nothing in the sources checked
No registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.
… Waiting for a reviewer
11 registered symptom measure.
— Not recorded
Harms were not a registered measure for this goal.
△ Only a number moved
1 registered test measure.
What happened in people◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What happened in people
Each card is one study: the exact question it asked, who was in it, and whether it showed what it set out to show.
Antiplatelet Trialists Collaboration composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke, adjudicated by a clinical events committee
Ibuprofen 2.7%, naproxen 2.5%, celecoxib 2.3% in the intention-to-treat analysis; hazard ratio celecoxib against ibuprofen 0.85 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.04), p<0.001 for non-inferiority. Gastrointestinal events lower on celecoxib than ibuprofen (p=0.002); renal events lower on celecoxib than ibuprofen (p=0.004)
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated
What this does not prove. Meeting one endpoint in one population does not carry to other goals or other people.
The limits of this study, and where it came from
Main limit. Mean achieved doses were asymmetric: celecoxib 209±37 mg daily against ibuprofen 2,045±246 mg daily. 68.8% of patients stopped taking study drug and 27.4% discontinued follow-up entirely, which biases a non-inferiority comparison toward the null.
How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.
Form and route. Oral tablets, capsules, chewables and suspensions; also an intravenous formulation (Caldolor) and a topical formulation outside the United States
Interval reported. 95% CI 0
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
Ibuprofen +3.7 mmHg (95% CI 1.72 to 5.58) against celecoxib -0.3 mmHg (-2.25 to 1.74); difference -3.9 mmHg, p=0.0009. Incident hypertension among normotensive patients 23.2% on ibuprofen against 10.3% on celecoxib (odds ratio 0.39, p=0.004)
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated
What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.
The limits of this study, and where it came from
Main limit. The endpoint is a surrogate. A 3.7 mmHg rise in 24-hour systolic pressure is the size of effect that a first-line antihypertensive is licensed to reverse, but the substudy was not powered for any clinical event.
How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.
Form and route. Oral tablets, capsules, chewables and suspensions; also an intravenous formulation (Caldolor) and a topical formulation outside the United States
Interval reported. 95% CI 1
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
RNAWiki holds 2 written-up human studies for this substance, each with the question it asked.
How we know it
Each card names the study, the number of people and what the study set out to measure.
What this does not prove
These summaries were written by a person and have not been signed off as reviewed claims.
Why it matters
A study that failed is as informative as one that worked, and both are here.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim exists, so no exact population, effect size or interval is published yet.
What happened in people◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
How close this is to real life
The top step is something a person would feel or care about. The bottom is a guess from software. Filled steps are where evidence exists for this substance.
□Living longer, or avoiding a major eventNo evidence recorded. Death, a heart attack, a stroke, a hospital stay.No registered study measures this.
■What a body can do day to dayEvidence recorded. Walking, dressing, breathing, recovering.1 registered measure of this kind.
■Measured performanceEvidence recorded. How much was lifted, how far was run, how fast.1 registered measure of this kind.
■Symptoms and quality of lifeEvidence recorded. Pain, tiredness, mood, sleep, as the person rated it.12 registered measures of this kind.
■A number that stands in for healthEvidence recorded. Cholesterol, blood sugar, bone density. A stand-in, not the thing itself.6 registered measures of this kind.
■A step measured inside a personEvidence recorded. Something measured in human tissue or human cells.A human record sits on the stored organism ladder.
■AnimalsEvidence recorded. Mice, rats, dogs. Useful for ideas, not proof about people.Stored records in Yeast, C. elegans (roundworm), Drosophila (fruit fly), Mouse, Rat, Dog. A result in animals says what to test next. It does not say what happens in people.
■Cells in a dishEvidence recorded. Cells or chemistry on a bench, far from a whole body.Stored mechanism abstracts describe steps measured in cells or tissue.
□A guess from softwareNo evidence recorded. Nobody measured it. RNAWiki never publishes one as a finding.RNAWiki stores no prediction for this record. Software can suggest a link. RNAWiki does not publish one as a finding.
Higher on these steps means closer to something a person would feel. It does not mean better done.
What it changes in the body◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
The path through the body
From what a person takes to what changes. A solid line is a step measured in people. A dashed line is a step nobody has measured that way.
Start
Ibuprofen
What a person takes: Oral tablets, capsules, chewables and suspensions; also an intravenous formulation (Caldolor) and a topical formulation outside the United States.
The measurement behind this step
Rapidly and almost completely absorbed after oral dosing, with peak plasma concentration typically within one to two hours; food slows the rate of absorption without much reducing the extent. Plasma half-life is about two hours, which is why analgesic dosing is every four to six hours and why the aspirin interaction depends on timing. Metabolism is oxidative, principally by CYP2C9, with negligible unchanged renal excretion.
Getting in
Half the tablet becomes the other half
The tablet contains equal amounts of two mirror-image forms. Only one blocks the enzyme — but the body converts a large part of the inactive one into the active one, so a racemic dose delivers more than half a dose.
──Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.
The measurement behind this step
Racemic 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid. Cyclooxygenase inhibition resides in the S-(+) enantiomer. The R-(-) enantiomer undergoes unidirectional chiral inversion through an acyl-CoA thioester intermediate; the reverse conversion does not occur. Plasma protein binding exceeds 99%, so free drug concentration, not total, determines enzyme occupancy.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
It plugs the channel rather than breaking the enzyme
Ibuprofen slides into a narrow tunnel in the enzyme and physically blocks the way through. It does not damage the enzyme, and it leaves again after a few hours — which is why the effect wears off, and why the enzyme is still there afterwards.
╌╌Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.
The measurement behind this step
Competitive, reversible occupancy of the hydrophobic cyclooxygenase channel of PTGS1 and PTGS2 above Tyr-385, preventing arachidonic acid from reaching the catalytic site. Contrast aspirin, which acetylates Ser-529 covalently and permanently. The reversibility is the entire basis of both the short duration of action and the aspirin interaction.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
Less prostaglandin means the same injury hurts less
Prostaglandins do not create pain themselves; they lower the threshold at which pain nerves fire and let blood vessels leak. Cut the supply and the injury is unchanged but the signal it sends is smaller.
╌╌Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.
The measurement behind this step
Blocking the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin G2 and then H2 removes the substrate for PGE2 and PGI2 synthesis. The label states that prostaglandins sensitise afferent nerves and potentiate the action of bradykinin in inducing pain, and are mediators of inflammation, and that ibuprofen’s mode of action may be due to a decrease of prostaglandins in peripheral tissues.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
The same block reaches the stomach, the kidney and the platelet
The enzyme is not only in the sore knee. It maintains the stomach’s protective mucus, keeps the kidney’s filtering pressure up when the body is short of fluid, and makes the clotting signal inside platelets. All three are suppressed by the same tablet.
╌╌Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.
The measurement behind this step
COX-1-derived PGE2 and PGI2 maintain gastric mucosal bicarbonate and mucus and gastric mucosal blood flow; renal prostaglandins preserve afferent arteriolar tone under low-perfusion states; platelet COX-1 generates thromboxane A2. In the CNT analysis, upper gastrointestinal complications rose 3.97-fold on high-dose ibuprofen and heart failure risk roughly doubled across all NSAID regimens.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
A heart patient’s low-dose aspirin works by permanently disabling the platelet enzyme. If ibuprofen is sitting in the tunnel when the aspirin arrives, the aspirin passes through the bloodstream and out again, having done nothing.
╌╌Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.
The measurement behind this step
Aspirin must reach Ser-529 within the same channel ibuprofen occupies. In the crossover study, ibuprofen given before aspirin — once or three times daily — abolished aspirin’s suppression of serum thromboxane B2 and of platelet aggregation, while rofecoxib, acetaminophen and delayed-release diclofenac did not. The label states the interaction is not alleviated by two-hour separation when the aspirin is enteric-coated.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
Measured: a single 400 mg dose halves pain for about half of people, against 7% on placebo. Measured: it raises 24-hour blood pressure by 3.7 mmHg. Not measured: whether the over-the-counter pattern of use — a few tablets, a few days — carries any of the risk found at arthritis doses.
╌╌Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.
The measurement behind this step
Efficacy: 52% reaching at least 50% maximum pain relief on 400 mg against 7% on placebo (Cochrane CD010210). Harm at arthritis doses: major coronary events RR 2.22 (1.10 to 4.48), upper gastrointestinal complications RR 3.97 (2.22 to 7.10) in CNT; 24-hour systolic pressure +3.7 mmHg and 23.2% incident hypertension in PRECISION-ABPM. No randomised outcome trial has been run at over-the-counter doses and durations.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
No suggested links are held for this record, so nothing is hidden from this path.
What we know
The record describes 6 steps from taking it to an effect in a person.
How we know it
Each step names the study behind it in the technical detail beside it.
What this does not prove
A change inside the body is a reason to look. It is not a result in a person.
Why it matters
A reader can see exactly where the chain stops being measured in people.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim binds any of these steps to a named population.
What it would be like to take◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Felt, measured, or meaningful
Three different things that get called the same word. Registered studies measured all three, and mixing them is how a blood test becomes a health claim.
Felt
Things a person could notice without a test.
time to a 50 reduction in reported pain intensity
sum pain intensity
pain
womac pain subscale
sum pain intensity spi
pain intensity difference at end of study
nasal symptom scores
pain scores
perception of pain
total pain relief from 0 to 6 hours
and 2 more.
Measured
Things only a test, a scale or a device shows.
serum thromboxane b2
gain in lean body mass
arterial blood pressure
muscle strength and hypertrophy
nasal inflammatory markers
maximum observed plasma concentration
flow mediated dilation
Meaningful
Things that change how a life goes, not only a number.
No registered study measured anything of this kind.
A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. A number moving is not the same as a life going better. The two are shown apart here.
Felt, but not shown to help. A person notices a change. No study showed it leads anywhere good.
Measured, but not felt. A number moves. The person notices nothing. Both can be true.
Measured, but not shown to matter. A number moves in the good direction. Nobody showed that lives went better.
Matters, but takes years. The result that counts may take longer than anyone would keep watching.
Names that fit none of the three (21)
fever clearance time
temperature
incidence of oliguria and gastric bleeding
treatment emergent adverse events
ddst ii
neurological examination
who discontinued study drug due to an ae
cartilage biomarkers
analgesic efficacy
rate and extend of absorption
migraine episodes per 30 days at month 10
perimetric mean deviation
acoustic rhinometry
bioequivalence based on cmax and auc parameters
auc0 tz
cmax
acute mountain sickness
performance quality rating scale
bioavailability
auct
These are harms, study-process measures, or names the rules did not recognise. They are shown rather than dropped.
What is missing or unclear◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Were people like you studied?
RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it, and where the result stops carrying.
Who was studied
People similar to this profile were included.
Adults and children with pain, fever or inflammatory arthritis. Not people in the setting of coronary artery bypass graft surgery, which is a contraindication, and not people with aspirin-sensitive asthma, in whom cross-reactive bronchospasm has been fatal.
Who is missing from the studies
Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.
What the label states about particular groups
On pediatric, the label states: “The safety and effectiveness of CALDOLOR have been established for the treatment of pain and fever in pediatric patients aged 3 months and older.”
US prescribing information · 1eaa7790-f1a1-4f51-b10a-cbbaf033f684 · read 2026-08-30
On older people, the label states: “Clinical studies of CALDOLOR did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects.”
US prescribing information · 1eaa7790-f1a1-4f51-b10a-cbbaf033f684 · read 2026-08-30
On people who are pregnant, the label states: “Risk Summary Use of NSAIDs, including CALDOLOR, can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus and fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios and, in some cases, neonatal renal impairment.”
US prescribing information · 1eaa7790-f1a1-4f51-b10a-cbbaf033f684 · read 2026-08-30
On people who are breastfeeding, the label states: “Risk Summary No lactation studies have been conducted with CALDOLOR; however, limited published literature reports that, following oral administration, ibuprofen is present in human milk at relative infant doses of 0.06% to 0.6% of the maternal weight-adjusted daily dose.”
US prescribing information · 1eaa7790-f1a1-4f51-b10a-cbbaf033f684 · read 2026-08-30
Where the result stopped carrying
Ibuprofen antagonises the cardioprotective effect of low-dose aspirin — the label directs choosing a different analgesic rather than managing the timing
Renal events were significantly more common on ibuprofen than on celecoxib in the head-to-head trial
23.2% of normotensive arthritis patients on ibuprofen became hypertensive by ambulatory criteria within four months
Heart failure risk was roughly doubled by every NSAID regimen studied in the individual-participant meta-analysis, ibuprofen included
Cross-reactive bronchospasm with aspirin-sensitive asthma has been fatal, and the label bars use in those patients
This is a scope explorer, not a diagnosis engine.
It shows who was studied so you can see whether people similar to you were included.
RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it.
What it would be like to take◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Why it might seem to do nothing
A real effect and a noticed effect are different things. These are the recorded reasons the two come apart.
It was studied for a different goal
The studies measured something else entirely.
On this record: Some registered studies measured things that match no goal on this page.
It was studied in different people
The people in the studies were not much like the reader.
On this record: Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.
The evidence may simply be wrong
Small early studies often do not hold up.
On this record: RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
Other reasons RNAWiki checked and found nothing for (10)
A different form was studied
The studied form is not the form on the shelf. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
There was nothing to correct
Where a level is already normal, topping it up may change nothing. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else had to happen too
In the studies it was paired with training, a diet or another treatment. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The change is too small to feel
A real change can still sit below what a person notices. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Day-to-day swing hides it
Sleep, food, stress and time of day move most numbers more than this would. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Not enough time yet
The studies ran longer than the person has waited. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
It was not taken as studied
Missed days change the result, and studies count them. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else changed at the same time
Two changes at once cannot be told apart afterwards. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The product may not be what it says
Contents of a sold product are not always what the label states. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
No recorded reason
RNAWiki has nothing stored that would explain it. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
None of these is a reason to take more. Taking more is not a step this page ever suggests.
What it would be like to take◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What taking it involves
The recorded facts about getting hold of it and using it. Nothing here is a suggestion about what you should do.
How it is supplied
Given by a clinician
❝ Quoted from a source
Where this came from
Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.
Read from the recorded approval status.
No source is stored against this line.
Form and route
Oral tablets, capsules, chewables and suspensions; also an intravenous formulation (Caldolor) and a topical formulation outside the United States
✎ Source-linked record
Where this came from
A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.
The form and route recorded on this substance.
No source is stored against this line.
Who oversees it
Professional supervision is normally required. A regulator classifies this substance in a way that restricts how it is supplied.
❝ Quoted from a source
Where this came from
Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.
Suppression classes recorded: S3, S6.
No source is stored against this line.
What is in the pack
Rapidly and almost completely absorbed after oral dosing, with peak plasma concentration typically within one to two hours; food slows the rate of absorption without much reducing the extent. Plasma half-life is about two hours, which is why analgesic dosing is every four to six hours and why the aspirin interaction depends on timing. Metabolism is oxidative, principally by CYP2C9, with negligible unchanged renal excretion.
✎ Source-linked record
Where this came from
A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.
Recorded notes on how this is sold and what that means for what is in the pack.
No source is stored against this line.
Where it is registered
Regulatory records are listed in the technical disclosure at the foot of this page.
# Counted from records
Where this came from
A count of rows RNAWiki holds. It describes our records, not your body.
Register entries are stored per jurisdiction and shown with their dates.
No source is stored against this line.
Why people stop
Not recorded.
∅ Nothing recorded
Where this came from
RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.
No record of why people stopped taking it is stored for this substance.
No source is stored against this line.
What it would be like to take◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What can go wrong
Sorted by where each line came from. A regulator's label and a report somebody sent in are not the same kind of fact.
·Worth asking a clinician aboutWritten into the record from the studies named on this page
Boxed warning on prescription products for cardiovascular thrombotic events including fatal myocardial infarction and stroke, with risk that may occur early in treatment, and for gastrointestinal bleeding, ulceration and perforation that can occur at any time and without warning symptoms; elderly patients are at greater risk. Contraindicated in the setting of coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Should not be given to patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma because of cross-reactive bronchospasm which can be fatal. Interferes with the antiplatelet activity of low-dose aspirin. Reduces the natriuretic effect of furosemide and thiazides, may diminish the antihypertensive effect of ACE inhibitors, raises plasma lithium concentrations, and acts synergistically with warfarin on gastrointestinal bleeding risk.
Nobody counted how many people took this and were fine, so this cannot be turned into a rate.
Coxib and traditional NSAID Trialists’ (CNT) Collaboration. Vascular and upper gastrointestinal effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: meta-analys… · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction.
Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing.
The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete.
News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report.
A count is not a rate and not a risk.
Ibuprofen appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 10 most-reported reaction terms, 205 reaction mentions were counted. One report can name several reactions.
open-targets-adr · recorded 2026-06-24 · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
Over a long time. No completed tested study window is recorded, so long-term effects are not established by the registry record.
Groups the studies covered thinly. Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.
What is missing or unclear◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Does the exact form matter?
Evidence belongs to the exact thing that was tested. A different salt, a different mixture or a different preparation is a different question.
The form that was studied
Oral tablets, capsules, chewables and suspensions; also an intravenous formulation (Caldolor) and a topical formulation outside the United States
✎ Source-linked record
Where this came from
A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.
The form used in the studies cited on this page.
No source is stored against this line.
What is sold
Plasma half-life is about two hours, which is why analgesic dosing is every four to six hours and why the aspirin interaction depends on timing. Metabolism is oxidative, principally by CYP2C9, with negligible unchanged renal excretion.
✎ Source-linked record
Where this came from
A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.
Recorded notes on which forms are sold and how they compare.
No source is stored against this line.
What is recorded as being sold
1486 products list this as an active ingredient in the United States drug directory. 1261 of them contain it and nothing else.
FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-890 · read 2026-08-29
They are sold as capsule, capsule, liquid filled, granule, injection, liquid and powder, taken intravenous, oral and topical.
FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-890 · read 2026-08-29
The regulator's established pharmacologic class for it is anti-inflammatory agents, cyclooxygenase inhibitors [moa] and non-steroidal [cs].
FDA National Drug Code directory · 71610-890 · read 2026-08-29
1184 published labels name it as an active ingredient. 1002 of them describe this substance alone, which is where its own label text on this page comes from.
US prescribing information · ab11e142-9e11-4ce4-9671-7e4fe53ffe92 · read 2026-08-29
Those labels are classed as human otc drug and human prescription drug.
US prescribing information · ab11e142-9e11-4ce4-9671-7e4fe53ffe92 · read 2026-08-29
29 marketed supplement labels list this ingredient, classed as fat/fatty acid and other combinations.
Those labels carry all other, nutrient and qualified health claims. A claim of that kind is written by the manufacturer and is not assessed by any regulator, so its presence says nothing about whether it is true.
Recorded price in US: 0.02429–0.04505 USD per one millilitre, across 10 priced products whose strengths and pack forms differ, as of 2026-08-26, paid by retail pharmacies buying the product, as surveyed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It is not a list price, an insurance price, or what anyone pays at a counter..
Recorded source · 2026-08-26 · read 2026-08-28
Recorded price in US: 0.03288–0.07797 USD per one unit as the pricing file counts it — a tablet, capsule, patch or single item, across 120 priced products whose strengths and pack forms differ, as of 2026-08-26, paid by retail pharmacies buying the product, as surveyed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It is not a list price, an insurance price, or what anyone pays at a counter..
Recorded source · 2026-08-26 · read 2026-08-28
Evidence carries across two names for one substance. It does not carry across a salt, a mirror form or a mixture.
What it would be like to take◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What you could measure
This one is decided with a clinician, so this section holds questions to ask rather than a plan to run.
Self-experiment planning is not offered for a prescription or clinician-supervised medicine. The questions below are for a clinician or pharmacist.
Questions worth asking
Which of the trials of Ibuprofen studied people like me?
What was measured, and for how long?
Was the result a laboratory value or a health outcome?
What would we watch for, and when would we stop?
Tracking can show whether something changed for you. It cannot show what caused it.
RNAWiki records evidence. It does not say whether this substance is right for you.
What is missing or unclear◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Claims that go past the evidence
Things said about this substance that sound reasonable, and the exact step that is missing between the evidence and the claim.
✗Goes past the evidence
That over-the-counter doses and durations carry a negligible share of the risk measured at arthritis doses — a downward extrapolation, never itself the subject of an outcome trial
Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.
The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.
What would change this
A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.
RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
✗Goes past the evidence
That PRECISION established a general ranking of NSAID cardiovascular safety, when celecoxib ran at a mean 209 mg and ibuprofen at a mean 2,045 mg
Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.
The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.
What would change this
A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.
RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
✗Goes past the evidence
That taking it with food protects the stomach, when the boxed warning describes systemic prostaglandin suppression reaching the mucosa through the bloodstream
Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.
The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.
What would change this
A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.
RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
✗Goes past the evidence
That separating ibuprofen and aspirin by two hours restores aspirin’s effect, which the label states cannot be extended to enteric-coated aspirin
Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.
The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.
What would change this
A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.
RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
What is missing or unclear◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
What nobody knows yet
Open questions, each with why it is open and what would close it.
Missing populations
Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
Missing long-term data
No completed tested study window is recorded.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
No reviewed conclusion
RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
Missing interaction studies
No interaction was found in the registers checked. Not finding one is not the same as showing there is none.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
Formulation uncertainty
Several salts, forms or products of Ibuprofen are recorded. Results from one form may not transfer to another.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
Mechanism not reviewed
No reviewed mechanism story exists for this substance.
Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.
What would answer it
A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.
Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.
What happened in people◇Read from sources, not yet reviewed
Check any of this yourself
Every line above traced back to the study it came from. This is the technical layer, and the vocabulary changes here.
Every line above can be traced to the study named beside it. Follow the link and read it.
The single-dose analgesic effect is one of the best-quantified numbers in medicine
In plain words
In pooled randomised trials, 52% of people with post-surgical pain got at least half their pain relieved by a single 400 mg ibuprofen tablet. On placebo the figure was 7%.
What was measured
Proportion achieving at least 50% of maximum pain relief over six hours, and the derived number needed to treat
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
The Cochrane review of single-dose oral ibuprofen plus paracetamol for acute postoperative pain pooled three studies in 1,647 participants and reported, in the arm comparisons it made, that 52% of participants given ibuprofen 400 mg alone achieved at least 50% of maximum pain relief over six hours, against 7% on placebo. Adding paracetamol 1000 mg raised that to 73%, giving a number needed to treat against placebo of 1.5 (95% CI 1.4 to 1.7) for the combination and 5.4 (3.5 to 12) for the combination against ibuprofen alone. Median time to rescue medication was 8.3 hours for the higher combination dose. A number needed to treat of 1.5 is among the lowest recorded for any drug against any endpoint; the endpoint is a self-reported pain score over six hours in mostly dental-extraction models, and it says nothing about weeks of arthritis or about anything structural.
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Ibuprofen cancels the aspirin a heart patient is taking, and the label says so
In plain words
Low-dose aspirin works by permanently disabling an enzyme inside platelets. Ibuprofen sits in the same slot without disabling anything, and while it is there aspirin cannot get in. Take the ibuprofen first and the aspirin does nothing that day.
What was measured
Serum thromboxane B2 suppression and arachidonate-induced platelet aggregation after aspirin, with and without preceding ibuprofen
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
This entry records a failure.
From the source
Aspirin acetylates Ser-529 of platelet COX-1 irreversibly; because a platelet has no nucleus it cannot make new enzyme, which is why 81 mg once daily suffices for a week-long effect. Ibuprofen occupies the same channel competitively and reversibly, and while it is bound the acetylation cannot occur. In the controlled crossover study, inhibition of serum thromboxane B2 formation and of platelet aggregation by aspirin was blocked when a single daily dose of ibuprofen preceded aspirin and when multiple daily doses of ibuprofen were given; rofecoxib, acetaminophen and delayed-release diclofenac given concomitantly did not affect aspirin pharmacodynamics. The prescription ibuprofen label carries this: pharmacodynamic studies demonstrated interference with the antiplatelet activity of aspirin at ibuprofen 400 mg three times daily with enteric-coated low-dose aspirin, the interaction exists even with once-daily ibuprofen, it is alleviated by taking immediate-release aspirin at least two hours before ibuprofen, and — the sentence that matters — this finding cannot be extended to enteric-coated low-dose aspirin. The label directs that a patient on cardioprotective aspirin who needs an analgesic should be considered for an NSAID that does not interfere, or a non-NSAID.
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Over-the-counter is a regulatory category, not a safety measurement
In plain words
Ibuprofen sits next to the sweets because a short course at a low dose is unusually safe. In randomised trials at arthritis doses it more than doubled major coronary events and nearly quadrupled serious gastric bleeding, and the risk of a heart attack was measurable within the first week of taking it.
What was measured
That the doses and durations people actually buy over the counter carry a risk small enough to disregard — plausible, extrapolated downward from trials run at higher doses, and not itself the subject of an outcome trial
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
The CNT individual-participant meta-analysis of 280 placebo-controlled trials (124,513 participants) found that high-dose ibuprofen significantly increased major coronary events — non-fatal myocardial infarction or coronary death — with a rate ratio of 2.22 (95% CI 1.10 to 4.48, p=0.0253), while the broader composite of major vascular events did not reach significance (1.44, 0.89 to 2.33). Upper gastrointestinal complications rose 3.97-fold (2.22 to 7.10, p<0.0001), the second highest in the analysis after naproxen. Heart failure risk was roughly doubled by all NSAID regimens studied. Separately, the Bayesian individual-patient meta-analysis of 446,763 people including 61,460 with acute myocardial infarction found that one to seven days of ibuprofen carried an odds ratio for first myocardial infarction of 1.48 (95% credible interval 1.00 to 2.26), with a 97% posterior probability of an odds ratio above 1.0 — the risk was greatest in the first month of use, not after prolonged exposure. The over-the-counter dose is lower than the doses in these analyses and the exposure is usually shorter; that is a reason to expect a smaller effect, and it is not the same thing as having measured one.
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
PRECISION: ibuprofen lost to celecoxib on the stomach and the kidney
In plain words
A 24,081-person trial ran ibuprofen, naproxen and celecoxib head to head in arthritis patients at raised cardiac risk for an average of nearly three years. On heart events the three were statistically indistinguishable. On stomach and kidney events ibuprofen came off worst.
What was measured
Adjudicated cardiovascular composite, gastrointestinal events and renal events across 24,081 randomised patients
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
PRECISION randomised 24,081 patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis and increased cardiovascular risk to celecoxib (mean daily dose 209±37 mg), naproxen (852±103 mg) or ibuprofen (2,045±246 mg), treated for a mean 20.3±16.0 months and followed a mean 34.1±13.4 months. In the intention-to-treat analysis the primary composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke occurred in 2.3% on celecoxib, 2.5% on naproxen and 2.7% on ibuprofen; hazard ratio for celecoxib against ibuprofen 0.85 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.04), against naproxen 0.93 (0.76 to 1.13), both meeting non-inferiority at p<0.001. Gastrointestinal events were significantly lower with celecoxib than with ibuprofen (p=0.002) and than with naproxen (p=0.01); renal events were significantly lower with celecoxib than with ibuprofen (p=0.004) but not significantly lower than with naproxen (p=0.19). The trial is the largest randomised comparison these three molecules will ever have.
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
The doses in PRECISION were not comparable, and that cuts both ways
In plain words
Celecoxib was given at roughly its lowest useful dose and ibuprofen at close to its highest. Any conclusion that celecoxib is the safer drug has to survive that, and any conclusion that ibuprofen is the more dangerous one has to survive it too.
What was measured
That PRECISION established a general ranking of NSAID cardiovascular safety — an extrapolation from one dose pairing, with two-thirds of participants off study drug, to the whole class at all doses
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
The mean daily doses achieved were celecoxib 209 mg, naproxen 852 mg and ibuprofen 2,045 mg. Celecoxib was capped at 200 mg daily for osteoarthritis patients — the low end of its licensed range — while ibuprofen ran near its maximum. Two further features constrain what the trial can be asked: 68.8% of patients stopped taking the study drug during the trial and 27.4% discontinued follow-up altogether, which is the highest attrition of any cardiovascular outcome trial of this size, and non-inferiority under that much drop-out biases toward the null. The honest reading is narrow: at these doses, over this duration, in this population, celecoxib was not worse on cardiovascular events and was better on gastrointestinal and renal ones. Read as a general statement that COX-2 selectivity is cardiovascularly safe, or that ibuprofen is uniquely dangerous, the trial does not support either.
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
It raises blood pressure, and in a quarter of normotensive users it makes them hypertensive
In plain words
A 444-person substudy fitted arthritis patients with 24-hour blood pressure monitors. Ibuprofen raised average daytime-and-night systolic pressure by 3.7 mmHg, and 23% of those who started with normal pressure ended the four months hypertensive.
What was measured
Change in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure at four months, and incident hypertension among normotensive patients
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
This entry records a failure.
From the source
PRECISION-ABPM randomised 444 patients (mean age 62±10, 54% female, 92% osteoarthritis) with or at increased risk of coronary artery disease to celecoxib 100-200 mg twice daily, ibuprofen 600-800 mg three times daily or naproxen 375-500 mg twice daily with matching placebos, and measured 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure at four months. Change in mean 24-hour systolic pressure was -0.3 mmHg (95% CI -2.25 to 1.74) on celecoxib, +3.7 mmHg (1.72 to 5.58) on ibuprofen and +1.6 mmHg (-0.40 to 3.57) on naproxen, a celecoxib-to-ibuprofen difference of -3.9 mmHg (p=0.0009). Among patients with normal baseline pressure, the proportion developing hypertension by 24-hour criteria was 23.2% on ibuprofen, 19.0% on naproxen and 10.3% on celecoxib (odds ratio 0.39 against ibuprofen, p=0.004). This is the mechanism by which an analgesic taken for a knee shows up as a cardiovascular event three years later, and it is invisible to a clinic cuff reading.
This order is fixed in code and does not count clicks or time on the page.
What is not here
4 questions this page could not answer
These sections were prepared and left out because there was nothing to put in them. They are listed rather than hidden, so the gaps in this record are visible.
How long anything takes — found nothing in the sources checked.
What it may clash with — found nothing in the sources checked.
Other ways to the same goal — found nothing in the sources checked.
What changed on this page — found nothing in the sources checked.
The record as stored
The full record, for auditing
Everything above is built from what is below. This layer keeps the technical vocabulary, record identifiers and every stored row, so a reader who wants to check the page can.
The older medicine-wide conclusion held in this record
Written for a clinical reader, and about the medicine as a whole rather than about one indication, population and set of trials. RNAWiki does not treat it as a programme conclusion and no reviewer has signed it off in that form. It is here word for word because it is what the record holds.
A reversible non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor with among the best-quantified short-term analgesia in medicine — 52% of postoperative patients reach at least 50% pain relief on a single 400 mg dose against 7% on placebo — bought at the price of a 3.97-fold increase in upper gastrointestinal complications, a 2.22-fold increase in major coronary events at high dose, and a documented ability to cancel the antiplatelet effect of the aspirin a cardiac patient is taking.
Recorded evidence blocks (14)
Q2
What did Ibuprofen's largest trial (24081 people) and its longest (15 years) measure?
24081 people in Ibuprofen's largest registered study, 15 years in its longest registered window, measuring Incidence of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or mortality at 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01
166 phase4, 124 na, 99 phase3, 93 phase2, 71 phase1, 16 na or unstated, 10 early phase1; NCT00223691; 2017-01. Last human test completed 2026, NCT07785986.
Interpretation These counts include studies where Ibuprofen was a comparison treatment, a background treatment or an exposure in an observational study, and the longest window may be a planned end date. Trial roles have not yet been classified for this record.
Show the evidence
phase4
166
na
124
phase3
99
phase2
93
phase1
71
na or unstated
16
2 more recorded rows
early phase1
10
Last recorded human testNCT07785986
2026-08-01
recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q3
From yeast to human: where has Ibuprofen shown lifespan?
C. elegans: lifespan, Drosophila: lifespan, yeast: lifespan, mouse: lifespan, rat: mechanism-only, dog: mechanism-only and human: lifespan (554): the rungs where Ibuprofen has a recorded finding. Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov · organism ladder · 2026-09-01
Incidence of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or mortality at 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) — the recorded outcome words.
Show the evidence
C. elegans
lifespan
Drosophila
lifespan
yeast
lifespan
mouse
lifespan
rat
mechanism-only
dog
mechanism-only
1 more recorded row
humanNCT02128191
lifespan; Incidence of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or mortality at 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA); 554
withdrawn; "first postponed then cancelled as national drug authority changed requirements"
NCT00292747
terminated; "early termination due to loss of interest and low enrollment of patient"
NCT00470743
withdrawn; "Funding withdrawn"
NCT00567528
terminated; "Study was not producing meaningful data."
NCT00625742
terminated; "Low Accrual"
14 further recorded trials
NCT00833365
terminated; "Study drug not available"
NCT00880373
terminated; "The funding withdrawal and early termination of the trial is based upon lack of suitable recruitment figures in order to reach the required trial endpoints."
NCT00961753
terminated; "FDA drug recall on July 30, 2010"
NCT01030666
terminated; "shelf life of investigational drug ran out before 90 patients could be included"
NCT01070745
withdrawn; "Changes in approach to PDA therapy"
NCT01104844
withdrawn; "The study was withdrawn due to administrative reason"
NCT01200069
terminated; "unable to increase to target enrollment"
NCT01268670
suspended; "This study is currently suspended due to transition of the investigator."
NCT01377441
terminated; "Samples lost during Hurricane Sandy. Study now taking place at other medical centers."
NCT01420666
withdrawn; "The study was withdrawn for administrative reason"
NCT01512160
terminated; "See termination reason in detailed description."
NCT01530880
terminated; "PI no longer at institution"
NCT01716052
terminated; "Lack of funding."
NCT01900795
terminated; "Terminated early due to administrative reasons not related to safety."
recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q5
Human studies of Ibuprofen used 800 mg ibuprofen — over how long?
Hormetic in human: "Therefore, ibuprofen acts as a hormetic preconditioning agent that improves seedling vigor and stress tolerance by fine-tuning hormonal signaling and redox metabolism." Europe PMC · dose-response search · 2026-09-01
5 recorded sentences naming Ibuprofen; hormetic, biphasic, dose-response
Show the evidence
hormeticPMID 41681525
"Therefore, ibuprofen acts as a hormetic preconditioning agent that improves seedling vigor and stress tolerance by fine-tuning hormonal signaling and redox metabolism."
biphasic
PMID 42374602
"This study evaluated the pharmacokinetic properties of a newly developed biphasic ibuprofen 400 mg immediate-release/sustained-release (IR/SR) modified-release tablets (test formulation), which was developed with an aim to overcome a need for frequent dosing."
PMID 42641591
"Evaluated using Ibuprofen as a model drug under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 37 °C), in vitro release showed a biphasic sustained profile, reaching 100% cumulative release over 113 h."
dose-responsePMID 38198469
"Using human primary muscle cells, we examined the dose-response impact of flurbiprofen (25-200 µM), indomethacin (25-200 µM), ibuprofen (25-200 µM), and naproxen sodium (25-200 µM), on myoblast viability, myotube area, fusion, and prostaglandin production."
biphasicPMID 35123168
"The performance of the biphasic recognition system was validated by separating acidic drugs (such as ketoprofen, ibuprofen, loxoprofen, flurbiprofen and carprofen) in capillary electrochromatography, achieving outstanding separation efficiency."
recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q7
Which of 1st peak rms knee index, acoustic rhinometry and acute mountain sickness did Ibuprofen's trials measure?
1st peak rms knee index, acoustic rhinometry and acute mountain sickness lead 40 outcome terms across Ibuprofen's trials. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01
incidence of oliguria and gastric bleeding, serum thromboxane b2, treatment emergent adverse events, ddst ii, neurological examination and gain in lean body mass follow.
Show the evidence
time to a 50 reduction in reported pain intensity
1
fever clearance time
1
temperature
1
incidence of oliguria and gastric bleeding
1
serum thromboxane b2
1
treatment emergent adverse events
1
14 more recorded rows
ddst ii
1
neurological examination
1
gain in lean body mass
1
arterial blood pressure
1
sum pain intensity
1
pain
1
womac pain subscale
1
who discontinued study drug due to an ae
1
muscle strength and hypertrophy
1
cartilage biomarkers
1
analgesic efficacy
1
rate and extend of absorption
1
migraine episodes per 30 days at month 10
1
sum pain intensity spi
1
recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q8
Which of Ibuprofen's 45 ongoing trials reports first?
"Combination of Ibuprofen, G-CSF and Plerixafor as Stem Cells Mobilization Regimen in Patients Affected by X-CGD"; n 3; "Percentage of patients experiencing adverse events"; 2026-07-18
NCT03060434
"Pentoxifylline and Lumbar Radiculopathy"; n 67; "Numerical rating scale (NRS)"; 2026-12-01
NCT03476577
"Bariatric Surgery and Pharmacokinetics of Ibuprofen"; n 12; "Ibuprofen concentration in blood serum (area under curve (AUC))"; 2026-10
"Opioids Versus Non-Opioids Postoperative After Knee Arthroscopic Surgery"; n 148; "Change from Baseline Pain Assessment at 2 weeks"; 2028-01
NCT04059172
"Efficacy of Combined Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen Therapy Versus Ibuprofen Alone Versus Placebo Alone for Pain Management"; n 375; "Change in visual analogue score (VAS) over time"; 2028-06-01
14 further recorded trials
NCT04102566
"Optimizing Pain Control in Transurethral Resection of the Prostate"; n 50; "Opioid Consumption"; 2019-12-01
NCT05488847
"Opioid-Free Pain Protocol After Shoulder Arthroplasty"; n 83; "Pain Levels"; 2026-09-01
NCT05512754
"Impact of Anti-inflammatory Medications in Patients With Elevated Serum Prostate-specific Antigen"; n 200; "Change of serum PSA compared with baseline"; 2027-12-31
NCT05548582
"Reduced Opioid Prescription After Laparoscopic Hysterectomy"; n 120; "Pain score on post-operative day one"; 2026-12-31
NCT05721027
"Ibuprofen With or Without Dexamethasone for Acute Radicular Low Back Pain."; n 132; "Change in Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score"; 2027-10
NCT05750264
"Intravenous Ibuprofen Postoperative Analgesia After Abdominal Hysterectomy"; n 152; "Morphine consumption"; 2025-12
NCT05842044
"NSAID Use After Robotic Partial Nephrectomy"; n 110; "Rate of Opioid Use in Postoperative Period"; 2026-09-30
NCT05919745
"Preemptive Ibuprofen Effects on Pain Perception Following Extraction and Bone Graft"; n 50; "Difference in patient-reported postoperative pain between test and control group"; 2026-12
NCT06088732
"Effects of Acute Exercise and Ibuprofen on Symptoms, Immunity, and Neural Circuits in Bipolar Depression"; n 20; "Inflammation"; 2026-12-31
NCT06398054
"A Study to Investigate the Analgesic Efficacy of Ibuprofen Alone and Ibuprofen Plus Hyoscine-n- Butyl Bromide in Reducing Pain of Outpatient Hysteroscopy"; n 190; "Pain assessed by visual analog pain score (10-point VAS, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst possible pain)"; 2026-10-01
NCT06434233
"Opioid Use After Laparoscopic Salpingectomy"; n 38; "Numeric post-operative pain score"; 2026-11
NCT06453291
"Assessment of Different Clinical Techniques to Treat Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain"; n 100; "Visual Analog Scale (VAS)"; 2025-05
NCT06505148
"Comparing the Difference in Pain Control in the Pediatric General Surgery Population: to Alternate or Combine Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen?"; n 80; "Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) pain assessment scale."; 2025-08-01
NCT06671002
"Comparing Analgesic Regimen Effectiveness and Safety for Surgery for Kids Trial"; n 900; "Effectiveness outcome - Pain intensity based on Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain intensity score at the surgical site over 14 days post-surgery"; 2027-10-31
recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q9
Which running trial of Ibuprofen could settle inflammatory markers?
NCT06088732 measures Inflammation, reading out 2026-12-31.
1 open trial; n 20; "Effects of Acute Exercise and Ibuprofen on Symptoms, Immunity, and Neural Circuits in Bipolar Depression"
Show the evidence
TrialNCT06088732
"Effects of Acute Exercise and Ibuprofen on Symptoms, Immunity, and Neural Circuits in Bipolar Depression"; n 20; "Inflammation"; 2026-12-31
Q10
Which 222 trials of Ibuprofen posted no result?
Posted no result
222 of 222 completed trials
Registrations
NCT00000574, NCT00004440, NCT01149941, NCT01149954, NCT00620867 and NCT00167713, and 216 more
Completion dates
oldest 1995-07; newest 2024-08-31
Show the evidence
Trial
NCT00000574
1995-07
NCT00004440
1999-06
NCT01149941
2002-11
NCT01149954
2003-01
NCT00620867
2003-03
NCT00167713
2004-01
14 further recorded trials
NCT00240825
2004-02
NCT00240864
2004-02
NCT00474721
2004-02
NCT00630929
2004-02
NCT00145730
2004-05
NCT01464983
2004-08
NCT00243815
2004-11
NCT00921830
2004-11
NCT00763997
2004-12
NCT00565500
2005-04
NCT00046358
2005-08
NCT01131000
2005-08
NCT00219895
2006-03
NCT00624871
2006-04
Q11
At the median, Ibuprofen's trials enrolled 80 people — anything larger?
Median enrolment
80
Largest enrolment
24081
Registered trials counted
550
Q12
What do 205 spontaneous reports say about Ibuprofen — and not say?
These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction. Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing. The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete. News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report. A count is not a rate and not a risk.
Ibuprofen appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 10 most-reported reaction terms, 205 reaction mentions were counted: bronchopulmonary dysplasia 92; gastrointestinal perforation 17; intestinal perforation 16; necrotising colitis 15. open-targets-adr · CHEMBL1201141 · 2026-06-24
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bronchopulmonary dysplasia
92
gastrointestinal perforation
17
intestinal perforation
16
necrotising colitis
15
suicide attempt
15
pulmonary hypertension
12
4 more recorded rows
posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus
11
haemorrhage intracranial
10
intraventricular haemorrhage
9
pulmonary haemorrhage
8
recorded 2026-06-24 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q13
Ibuprofen and CYP2C9: shared by which compounds?
CYP2C9 appear in Ibuprofen's recorded interaction sentences, 1 in all. openfda-label+europepmc · 2026-08-30
Interpretation pharmacokinetics
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CYP2C9pharmacokinetics
Ibuprofen is eliminated primarily by metabolism in the liver where CYP2C9 mediates the 2- and 3-hydroxylations of R- and S-ibuprofen.
recorded 2026-08-30 · last checked 2026-09-04
Q14
Was Ibuprofen studied with fasting and exercise?
fasting and exercise are named in Ibuprofen's label sentences: "This single-center, randomized, open-label bioequivalence program compared two fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablets containing ibuprofen (200 mg) and phenylephrine hydrochloride (10 mg) from different manufacturers in healthy Chinese adults under fasting and fed conditions." openfda-label+europepmc · 2026-08-30
2 recorded statements; fasting, exercise
Show the evidence
fasting
This single-center, randomized, open-label bioequivalence program compared two fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablets containing ibuprofen (200 mg) and phenylephrine hydrochloride (10 mg) from different manufacturers in healthy Chinese adults under fasting and fed conditions.
"Especially in clinical medicine, exploring the effect of ibuprofen on the growth and apoptosis of fibrosarcoma cells under the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway can not only effectively prevent us in advance, but also be a great way to break through this field." — where Ibuprofen and mTOR appear together. Europe PMC · pathway abstract search · 2022-02-04
"Especially in clinical medicine, exploring the effect of ibuprofen on the growth and apoptosis of fibrosarcoma cells under the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway can not only effectively prevent us in advance, but also be a great way to break through this field."
PMID 35818269
"The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ibuprofen on the proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of fibrosarcoma cells through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway."
PMID 35818269
"Therefore, we can be surer that ibuprofen has a very good inhibitory effect on the proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of fibrosarcoma cells under the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway."
autophagyPMID 31535354
"Studies have reported that ibuprofen can affect autophagy and/or inhibit cell proliferation in many diseases."
NAD+
"Finally, we show that the immunosuppressive drugs dexamethasone and ibuprofen, as well as the NAD salvage pathway activator P7C3, provide at least some neuroprotection post-deafening."
AMPK
PMID 30892081
"Previous findings demonstrated that ibuprofen treatment restores the regulation of microtubule dynamics in CF epithelial cells through a 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent mechanism."
PMID 27317686
"Effects of ibuprofen are mimicked by stimulation of AMPK and blocked by the AMPK inhibitor compound C. We conclude that high-dose ibuprofen treatment enhances microtubule formation in CF cells likely through an AMPK-related pathway."
PMID 27445853
"Conscious rats were exposed to room air (RA) or IH with or without treatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, an antioxidant), Compound C (an AMPK inhibitor), ibuprofen (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor), or their vehicles."
IGF-1PMID 8675801
"Agents tested included Demecolcine (an inhibitor of cytoskeletal contraction), growth factors (i.e., TGF-beta 1, PDGF, and IGF-1), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (indomethacin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and flurbiprofen)."
recorded 2022-02-04 · last checked 2026-09-04
Where it is registeredIdentifiers, relations and other names
ClinicalTrials.gov — US Government work · Europe PMC — metadata only, under the recorded legal gate · Open Targets 26.06 — CC0 · derived from this page's own recorded fields; no external licence · mixed register set; per-register licences in docs/specs/corpus-20k-sources.md · openFDA / DailyMed — US Government work
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