Parents handing a feverish infant a dose of acetaminophen have spent years absorbing warnings drawn from observational research linking early exposure to eczema, wheezing, and asthma. A randomized trial of nearly 4,000 babies has now directly tested that concern, and at age one, it found no meaningful difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen on either outcome.
The trial, called PIPPA Tamariki, enrolled 3,923 New Zealand infants younger than eight weeks and assigned each family to give only acetaminophen, known there as paracetamol, or only ibuprofen whenever their baby needed medication for fever or pain during the first year. At regular points, parents were asked whether their child had experienced eczema, asthma symptoms, or bronchiolitis, and the team also reviewed prescription and hospital records.
