INDICATIONS AND USAGE Carefully consider the potential benefits and risks of ibuprofen tablets and other treatment options before deciding to use ibuprofen.

Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration consistent with individual patient treatment goals (see WARNINGS ).

Ibuprofen tablets are indicated for relief of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Ibuprofen tablets are indicated for relief of mild to moderate pain.

Ibuprofen tablets are also indicated for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

Controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of ibuprofen tablets in children have not been conducted.

WARNINGS Cardiovascular Effects Cardiovascular Thrombotic Events Clinical trials of several COX-2 selective and nonselective NSAIDs of up to three years duration have shown an increased risk of serious cardiovascular (CV) thrombotic events, myocardial infarction, and stroke, which can be fatal.

All NSAIDs, both COX-2 selective and nonselective, may have a similar risk.

Patients with known CV disease or risk factors for CV disease may be at greater risk.

To minimize the potential risk for an adverse CV event in patients treated with an NSAID, the lowest effective dose should be used for the shortest duration possible.

Physicians and patients should remain alert for the development of such events, even in the absence of previous CV symptoms.

Patients should be informed about the signs and/or symptoms of serious CV events and the steps to take if they occur.

There is no consistent evidence that concurrent use of aspirin mitigates the increased risk of serious CV thrombotic events associated with NSAID use.

The concurrent use of aspirin and an NSAID does increase the risk of serious GI events (see WARNINGS, Gastrointestinal Effects-Risk of Ulceration, Bleeding, and Perforation ).

Two large, controlled clinical trials of a COX-2 selective NSAID for the treatment of pain in the first 10 to 14 days following CABG surgery found an increased incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke (see CONTRAINDICATIONS ).

Hypertension NSAIDs including ibuprofen tablets, can lead to onset of new hypertension or worsening of pre-existing hypertension, either of which may contribute to the increased incidence of CV events.

Patients taking thiazides or loop diuretics may have impaired response to these therapies when taking NSAIDs.

NSAIDs, including ibuprofen tablets, should be used with caution in patients with hypertension.

Blood pressure (BP) should be monitored closely during the initiation of NSAID treatment and throughout the course of therapy.

Congestive Heart Failure and Edema Fluid retention and edema have been observed in some patients taking NSAIDs.

Ibuprofen tablets should be used with caution in patients with fluid retention or heart failure.

Gastrointestinal Effects - Risk of Ulceration, Bleeding, and Perforation NSAIDs, including ibuprofen tablets, can cause serious gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events including inflammation, bleeding, ulceration, and perforation of the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine, which can be fatal.

These serious adverse events can occur at any time, with or without warning symptoms, in patients treated with NSAIDs.

Only one in five patients, who develop a serious upper GI adverse event on NSAID therapy, is symptomatic.

Upper GI ulcers, gross bleeding, or perforation caused by NSAIDs occur in approximately 1% of patients treated for 3 to 6 months, and in about 2% to 4% of patients treated for one year.

These trends continue with longer duration of use, increasing the likelihood of developing a serious GI event at some time during the course of therapy.

However, even short-term therapy is not without risk.

NSAIDs should be prescribed with extreme caution in those with a prior history of ulcer disease or gastrointestinal bleeding.

Patients with a prior history of peptic ulcer disease and/or gastrointestinal bleeding who use NSAIDs have a greater than 10-fold increased risk for developing a GI bleed compared to patients treated with neither of these risk factors.

Other factors that increase the risk of GI bleeding in patients treated with NSAIDs include concomitant use of oral corticosteroids or anticoagulants, longer duration of NSAID therapy, smoking, use of alcohol, older age, and poor general health status.

Most spontaneous reports of fatal GI events are in elderly or debilitated patients and therefore, special care should be taken in treating this population.

To minimize the potential risk for an adverse GI event in patients treated with an NSAID, the lowest effective dose should be used for the shortest possible duration.

Patients and physicians should remain alert for signs and symptoms of GI ulcerations and bleeding during NSAID therapy and promptly initiate additional evaluation and treatment if a serious GI event is suspected.

This should include discontinuation of the NSAID until a serious GI adverse event is ruled out.

For high-risk patients, alternate therapies that do not involve NSAIDs should be considered.

Renal Effects Long-term administration of NSAIDs has resulted in renal papillary necrosis and other renal injury.

Renal toxicity has also been seen in patients in whom renal prostaglandins have a compensatory role in the maintenance of renal perfusion.

In these patients, administration of a NSAID may cause a dose-dependent reduction in prostaglandin formation and, secondarily, in renal blood flow, which may precipitate overt renal decompensation.

Patients at greatest risk of this reaction are those with impaired renal function, heart failure, liver dysfunction, those taking diuretics and ACE inhibitors, and the elderly.

Discontinuation of NSAID therapy is usually followed by recovery to the pretreatment state.

Advanced Renal Disease No information is available from controlled clinical studies regarding the use of ibuprofen tablets in patients with advanced renal disease.

Therefore, treatment with ibuprofen tablets is not recommended in these patients with advanced renal disease.

If ibuprofen tablet therapy must be initiated, close monitoring of the patients renal function is advisable.

Anaphylactoid Reactions As with other NSAIDs, anaphylactoid reactions may occur in patients without known prior exposure to ibuprofen tablets.

Ibuprofen tablets should not be given to patients with the aspirin triad.

This symptom complex typically occurs in asthmatic patients who experience rhinitis with or without nasal polyps, or who exhibit severe, potentially fatal bronchospasm after taking aspirin or other NSAIDs (see CONTRAINDICATIONS and PRECAUTIONS, Preexisting Asthma ).

Emergency help should be sought in cases where an anaphylactoid reaction occurs.

Skin Reactions NSAIDs, including ibuprofen tablets, can cause serious skin adverse events such as exfoliative dermatitis, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which can be fatal.

These serious events may occur without warning.

Patients should be informed about the signs and symptoms of serious skin manifestations and use of the drug should be discontinued at the first appearance of skin rash or any other sign of hypersensitivity.

Pregnancy In late pregnancy, as with other NSAIDs, ibuprofen tablets should be avoided because it may cause premature closure of the ductus arteriosus.

ADVERSE REACTIONS The most frequent type of adverse reaction occurring with ibuprofen tablets is gastrointestinal.

In controlled clinical trials the percentage of patients reporting one or more gastrointestinal complaints ranged from 4% to 16%.

In controlled studies when ibuprofen tablets were compared to aspirin and indomethacin in equally effective doses, the overall incidence of gastrointestinal complaints was about half that seen in either the aspirin- or indomethacin-treated patients.

Adverse reactions observed during controlled clinical trials at an incidence greater than 1% are listed in the table.

Those reactions listed in Column one encompass observations in approximately 3,000 patients.

More than 500 of these patients were treated for periods of at least 54 weeks.

Still other reactions occurring less frequently than 1 in 100 were reported in controlled clinical trials and from marketing experience.

These reactions have been divided into two categories: Column two of the table lists reactions with therapy with ibuprofen tablets where the probability of a causal relationship exists: for the reactions in Column three, a causal relationship with ibuprofen tablets has not been established.

Reported side effects were higher at doses of 3200 mg/day than at doses of 2400 mg or less per day in clinical trials of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The increases in incidence were slight and still within the ranges reported in the table.

Incidence Greater than 1% (but less than 3%) Probable Causal Relationship Precise Incidence Unknown (but less than 1%) Probable Causal Relationship * Precise Incidence Unknown (but less than 1%) Causal Relationship Unknown * GASTROINTESTINAL Nausea † , epigastric pain † , heartburn † , diarrhea, abdominal distress, nausea and vomiting, indigestion, constipation, abdominal cramps or Pain, fullness of GI tract (bloating and flatulence) Gastric or duodenal ulcer with bleeding and/or perforation, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, melena, gastritis, hepatitis, jaundice, abnormal liver function tests; pancreatitis CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM Dizziness † , headache, nervousness Depression, insomnia, confusion, emotional liability, somnolence, aseptic meningitis with fever and coma (see PRECAUTIONS ) Paresthesias, hallucinations, dream abnormalities, pseudo-tumor cerebri DERMATOLOGIC Rash † (including maculopapular type), pruritus Vesiculobullous eruptions, urticaria, erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, alopecia Toxic epidermal necrolysis, photoallergic skin reactions SPECIAL SENSES Tinnitus Hearing loss, amblyopia (blurred and/or diminished vision, scotomata and/or changes in color vision) (see PRECAUTIONS ) Conjunctivitis, diplopia, optic neuritis, cataracts HEMATOLOGIC Neutropenia, agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemia (sometimes Coombs positive), thrombocytopenia with or without purpura, eosinophilia, decreases in hemoglobin and hematocrit (see PRECAUTIONS ) Bleeding episodes (eg epistaxis, menorrhagia) METABOLIC/ENDOCRINE Decreased appetite Gynecomastia, hypoglycemic reaction, acidosis CARDIOVASCULAR Edema, fluid retention (generally responds promptly to drug discontinuation) (see PRECAUTIONS ) Congestive heart failure in patients with marginal cardiac function, elevated blood pressure, palpitations Arrhythmias (sinus tachycardia, sinus bradycardia) ALLERGIC Syndrome of abdominal pain, fever, chills, nausea and vomiting; anaphylaxis; bronchospasm (see CONTRAINDICATIONS ) Serum sickness, lupus erythematosus syndrome.

Henoch-Schonlein vasculitis, angioedema RENAL Acute renal failure (see PRECAUTIONS ), decreased creatinine clearance, polyuria, azotemia, cystitis, Hematuria Renal papillary necrosis MISCELLANEOUS Dry eyes and mouth, gingival ulcer, rhinitis * Reactions are classified under "Probable Causal Relationship (PCR)" if there has been one positive rechallenge or if three or more cases occur which might be causally related.

Reactions are classified under "Causal Relationship Unknown" if seven or more events have been reported but the criteria for PCR have not been met.

† Reactions occurring in 3% to 9% of patients treated with ibuprofen.

(Those reactions occurring in less than 3% of the patients are unmarked).