Anticoagulants and anti-inflammatories: a risky duo

The risk was known, it is now quantified. A study published in theEuropean Heart Journal shows that the simultaneous use of anticoagulants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, more than doubles the risk of internal bleeding in patients. This study was conducted by researchers at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, on more than 51,000 patients between 2012 and 2022. Therefore, the combination of these two types of drugs is strongly discouraged.

Naproxen tops the list of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that patients on anticoagulants should be wary of: it increases the risk of internal bleeding by 4.1. It is followed by diclofenac, which increases the risk by 3.3, and ibuprofen, with an increased risk 1.79 times. In general, taking NSAIDs with anticoagulants increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding by 2.24, cerebral bleeding by 3.22, and bleeding…