Ibuprofen instructions for administration

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Instructions for administration

General
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

• Chronic conditions
• Pain
• Dysmenorrhea

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General

After observing the response to initial therapy with Ibuprofen tablets, the dose and frequency should be adjusted to suit an individual patient's needs.
Do not exceed 3200 mg total daily dose. If gastrointestinal complaints occur, administer Ibuprofen tablets with meals or milk. Return to top

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

Suggested Dosage: 1200 mg-3200 mg daily ( 400 mg, 600 mg or 800 mg tid or qid). Individual patients may show a better response to 3200 mg daily, as compared with 2400 mg, although in well-controlled clinical trials patients on 3200 mg did not show a better mean response in terms of efficacy. Therefore, when treating patients with 3200 mg/day, the physician should observe sufficient increased clinical benefits to offset potential increased risk.
The dose should be tailored to each patient, and may be lowered or raised depending on the severity of symptoms either at time of initiating drug therapy or as the patient responds or fails to respond.
In general, patients with rheumatoid arthritis seem to require higher doses of Ibuprofen tablets than do patients with osteoarthritis.
The smallest dose of Ibuprofen tablets that yields acceptable control should be employed. A linear blood level dose-response relationship exists with single doses up to 800 mg.
The availability of three tablet strengths facilitates dosage adjustment.Return to top

Chronic conditions

In chronic conditions, a therapeutic response to therapy with Ibuprofen tablets is sometimes seen in a few days to a week but most often is observed by two weeks. After a satisfactory response has been achieved, the patient's dose should be reviewed and adjusted as required.Return to top

Pain

Mild to moderate pain: 400 mg every 4 to 6 hours as necessary for relief of pain. In controlled analgesic clinical trials, doses of Ibuprofen tablets greater than 400 mg were no more effective than the 400 mg dose.Return to top

Dysmenorrhea

For the treatment of dysmenorrhea, beginning with the earliest onset of such pain, Ibuprofen tablets should be given in a dose of 400 mg every 4 hours as necessary for the relief of pain.Return to top

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The content of this page is taken from the FDA package insert for this drug and should not be edited.