Study Links Common Painkillers to Increased Risk of Bacterial Infection

A recent study indicates that using two commonplace painkillers may elevate the risk of contracting a serious bacterial infection.

Ibuprofen, known as Advil, and acetaminophen, referred to as Tylenol, are frequently used over-the-counter medications taken by millions to alleviate headaches, back pain, neck discomfort, and fevers, among other issues.

However, researchers in Australia caution that these readily available drugs, which usually cost about 20 cents each, could potentially worsen antibiotic resistance, making severe bacterial infections more difficult to treat.

In laboratory settings, the researchers discovered that either drug, taken alone or in combination, increased bacterial resistance to a commonly prescribed antibiotic.

It’s important to note that these findings were based on laboratory experiments rather than human studies, so there may be limitations in how these results apply to real-life situations.

The scientists emphasized that this serves as a caution for the frequent use of pain relievers, especially for individuals in care facilities who tend to use them alongside antibiotics and are generally more vulnerable to bacterial infections.

Globally, around 1.27 million people die each year due to antibiotic resistance, which the CDC has labeled as one of the greatest public health challenges of our time.

Dr. Rietie Venter, a researcher focused on microbial resistance and the lead author of the study, remarked, “Antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics anymore.”

She further explained that the findings should prompt careful consideration regarding the use of multiple medications, particularly in older adult care settings where residents often receive various long-term treatments.

While Dr. Venter doesn’t advocate stopping the use of these medications, she stresses the need for more awareness about their interactions with antibiotics, rather than just focusing on combinations of two drugs.

In this study, the researchers examined acetaminophen and ibuprofen, alongside other medications such as diclofenac for arthritis, furosemide for high blood pressure, metformin for controlling blood sugar, and tramadol, a stronger painkiller.

These other medications do not contain either acetaminophen or ibuprofen, which makes the findings even more compelling.

The scientists carried out their tests using a petri dish containing various concentrations of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, the standard treatment for bacterial infections. They introduced E. coli, a bacteria commonly found in the human gut, and incubated the dishes at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) for 20 hours.

The results indicated that bacteria exposed to acetaminophen and ibuprofen alongside ciprofloxacin developed more mutations than those treated with ciprofloxacin alone. This increased mutation rate enabled the bacteria to grow faster and gain higher resistance not just to ciprofloxacin, but also to multiple antibiotics from different categories.

Approximately 9.9 million people in the U.S. are prescribed ibuprofen annually, with countless others using it without a prescription. Similarly, an estimated 52 million people take acetaminophen in the U.S. each year.

The CDC reports around 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the U.S. annually, leading to over 35,000 deaths, based on estimates.

The World Health Organization has previously warned that antibiotic resistance jeopardizes the effective prevention and treatment of a growing array of infections, characterizing it as an urgent public health threat.

Infections resistant to available treatments are often dubbed “super infections.”

This study is published in the journal Nature: Antimicrobials and Resistance.