Assessment of the efficacy and safety of paracetamol, ibuprofen and nimesulide in children with upper respiratory tract infections

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess and compare the efficacy and tolerability of paracetamol, ibuprofen and nimesulide in children with upp er respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Methods: Ninety children with acute URTIs and fever were enrolled to the st udy. The patients were allocated to three groups. The first group was treat ed with paracetamol 10 mg/kg thrice daily; the second group with ibuprofen 10 mg/kg thrice daily; and the third group received nimesulide 2.5 mg/kg tw ice daily for 5 days. Results: The anti-pyretic activity of nimesulide was greater and more rapid than either paracetamol or ibuprofen. The number of patients with normal t emperature was significantly greater in the first 2 days for the nimesulide group. The improvement in cough for the paracetamol group was better than the others. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that the anti-pyretic ef fectiveness of nimesulide is better than paracetamol and ibuprofen in febri le children with URTIs. However, new studies in larger paediatric populatio ns are required to explore the anti-inflammatory effect of nimesulide.