Breaking News: Ibuprofen Wins Battle of Pain Killers

CHICAGO-A new study was released stating that ibuprofen is reported to work best for kids for bruises, sprains and breaks. The study was conducted with the medications of ibuprofen, generic acetaminophen and codeine.

Ibuprofen is the generic form of medicines such as Advil and Motrin. Acetaminophen is the generic form of the common medicine Tylenol. Codeine is a narcotic medication that is available by prescription only.

The study was conducted with 300 children. The focus of the study was emergency room visits for bruises, sprains and broken bones that were treated at a Canadian hospital. The children ranged in ages from 6 years of age to 17 years of age. The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario is located in Ottawa, Canada. The study was funded by a research institute program by the hospital. This is the first study with conclusive evidence that has studied all three pain medications together.

The group ranked pain levels on a 100 point scale and then the test children were randomly given one of the following: generic ibuprofen, generic acetaminophen or codeine. One half hour after pain medicine was given, the children were asked to again rank pain levels. The results of the study showed that generic ibuprofen had the most significant impact on the reducing pain levels for the children in the study.

One hour and two hours after receiving generic ibuprofen, pain levels were reported to have dropped twenty-four points. The reduction of pain with generic ibuprofen was double that of both generic acetaminophen and of codeine. Generic acetaminophen dropped pain scores by twelve points. Codeine lowered pain scores by eleven points.

The results of the pain medication study are expected provide both pediatricians and parents with better information for reducing pain in children. This study is one of few that have used such a wide range of ages in the children being studied. The official findings of the study will be released in the March edition of Pediatrics.