Patient leaflets and SmPCs, drug interaction checker, official dosages and NHS pharmacy opening hours — all in one place.
Patient leaflets and SmPCs, drug interaction checker, official dosages and NHS pharmacy opening hours — all in one place.
The electronic medicines compendium (emc) no longer publishes a Summary of Product Characteristics for this product, which usually means it is no longer marketed in the UK. The patient leaflet below is kept for reference, but the product may not be available.
If you were prescribed this medicine, other products containing Ibuprofen may still be available. Do not stop your treatment — ask your pharmacist or GP what to use instead.
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While a baby is inside its mother's womb it does not need to use its lungs. An unborn baby has a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus near the heart which allows the baby's blood to bypass the lungs and circulate to the rest of the body. When the baby is born and starts using its lungs the ductus arteriosus normally closes. However, in some cases this does not happen. The medical term for this condition is 'patent ductus arteriosus', i.e. an open ductus arteriosus. This can cause heart problems in your baby. This condition is much more frequent in premature newborn than in full-term newborn infants. Pedea, when given to your baby, can help to close the ductus arteriosus. The active substance in Pedea is ibuprofen. Pedea closes the ductus arteriosus by inhibiting the production of prostaglandin, a naturally occurring chemical in the body which keeps the ductus arteriosus open. 2.
What you need to know before pedea is administered to your baby
Pedea will only be given to your baby in a special neonatal intensive care unit by qualified health care professionals. Do not use Pedea
Warnings and precautions Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before Pedea is administered to your baby
your baby may have problems passing urine and may have been prescribed diuretics. Ibuprofen may reduce the effect of these medicines.
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your baby may be given anticoagulants (medicine preventing blood clotting). Ibuprofen may increase the anti-clotting effect of this product.
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your baby may be given nitric oxide to improve blood oxygenation. Ibuprofen may increase the risk of bleeding.
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your baby may be given corticosteroids to prevent inflammation. Ibuprofen may increase the risk of bleeding in the stomach and intestines.
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your baby may be given aminosides (one family of antibiotics) to treat infection. Ibuprofen may increase blood concentrations and thus increase the risk of toxicity on kidney and ear
Pedea contains sodium This medicinal product contains less than 1 mmol sodium (15 mg) per 2 ml, i.e. essentially 'sodiumfree'.
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Pedea will only be given to your baby in a special neonatal intensive care unit by qualified healthcare professional. A course of therapy is defined as three intravenous injections of Pedea given at 24 hour intervals. The dose to be administered will be calculated from the weight of your baby. It is 10 mg/kg for the first administration and 5 mg/kg for the second and the third administrations. This calculated amount will be given by infusion in a vein over a period of 15 minutes. If after this first course of treatment, the ductus arteriosus is not closed or re-opens, your baby's doctor may decide to give a second course of treatment. If after the second course of treatment, the ductus arteriosus is still not closed, a surgery may then be proposed. If you take more Pedea than you should If you have taken more Pedea than you should, or if children have taken this medicine by accident always contact a doctor or nearest hospital to get an opinion of the risk and advice on action to be taken. The symptoms can include nausea, stomach pain, vomiting (may be blood streaked), headache, ringing in the ears, confusion and shaky eye movement. At high doses, drowsiness, chest pain, palpitations, loss of consciousness, convulsions (mainly in children), weakness and dizziness, blood in urine, cold body feeling, and breathing problems have been reported. 4.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. However, it is difficult to distinguish them from frequent complications occurring in premature babies and complications due to the disease. The frequency of possible side effects listed below is defined using the following convention: very common (affects more than 1 user in 10) common (affects 1 to 10 users in 100) uncommon (affects 1 to 10 users in 1,000) very rare (affects less than 1 user in 10,000) not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data) Very common: Decrease in the number of platelets in the blood (thrombocytopenia), Decrease in white blood cells called neutrophils (neutropenia), Increase in creatinine level in the blood, Decrease in sodium level in the blood, Breathing problems (bronchopulmonary dysplasia), Common: Bleeding inside the skull (intraventricular haemorrhage) and brain injury (periventricular leukomalacia), Bleeding in the lung, Perforation of the intestine and injury of intestinal tissue (necrotizing enterocolitis), Reduced volume of urine passed, blood in the urine, fluid retention Uncommon: Acute failure of the kidney's functions Bleeding in the intestine Below normal oxygen content in the arterial blood (hypoxemia) 3
Not known: Perforation of the stomach A red, scaly widespread rash with bumps under the skin and blisters mainly localized on the skin folds, trunk, and upper extremities accompanied by fever at the initiation of treatment (acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis). Stop using Pedea if you develop these symptoms and seek medical attention immediately. See also section 2. Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms: a severe skin reaction known as DRESS syndrome can occur. Symptoms of DRESS syndrome include: skin rash, fever, swelling of lymph nodes and an increase of eosinophils (a type of white blood cells). Pedea, especially when taken at higher than recommended doses or for a prolonged period of time, can cause damage to your baby's kidneys and affect them removing acids properly from your baby's blood into the urine (renal tubular acidosis). It can also cause very low levels of potassium in your baby's blood (see section 2). This is a very serious condition and will require immediate treatment. Signs and symptoms include muscle weakness and light-headedness. Reporting of side effects If your baby gets any side effects, talk to your baby's doctor. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the national reporting system :Yellow Card Scheme, Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or AppleApp Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
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Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and label after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month. This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions. After opening, Pedea should be administered immediately. Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment 6.
What Pedea contains –
The active substance is ibuprofen. Each ml contains 5 mg ibuprofen. Each 2 ml ampoule contains 10 mg ibuprofen. The other ingredients are trometamol, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide (for pH adjustment), hydrochloric acid 25% (for pH adjustment) and water for injections.
What Pedea looks like and contents of the pack Pedea 5mg/ml solution for injection is a clear, colourless to slightly yellow solution. Pedea 5mg/ml solution for injection is supplied in cartons of four 2 ml ampoules. Marketing Authorisation Holder Recordati Rare Diseases Tour Hekla 4
52, avenue du Général de Gaulle F- 92800 Puteaux France Manufacturer Recordati Rare Diseases Tour Hekla 52, avenue du Général de Gaulle F-92800 Puteaux France or Recordati Rare Diseases Eco River Parc 30, rue des Peupliers F-92000 Nanterre France For any information about this medicine, please contact the local representative of the Marketing Authorisation Holder.
United Kingdom Recordati Rare Diseases UK Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1491 414333 This leaflet was last revised in 07/2025 The following information is intended for medical or healthcare professionals only: As for all parenteral products, ampoules of Pedea should be visually inspected for particulate matter and the integrity of the container prior to use. Ampoules are intended for single use only, any unused portions must be discarded. Posology and method of administration (see also section 3) For intravenous use only. Treatment with Pedea can only be carried out in a neonatal intensive care unit under the supervision of an experienced neonatologist. A course of therapy is defined as three intravenous doses of Pedea given at 24-hour intervals. The ibuprofen dose is adjusted to the body weight as follows:
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If necessary, the injection volume may be adjusted with either sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection or glucose 50 mg/ml (5%) solution for injection. Any unused portion of the solution should be discarded. The total volume of solution injected to preterm infants should take into account the total daily fluid volume administered. A maximal volume of 80 ml/kg/day on the first day of life should usually be respected; this should be progressively increased in the following 1-2 weeks (about 20 ml/kg birthweight/day) up to a maximal volume of 180 ml/kg birthweight/day. Incompatibilities Chlorhexidine must not be used to disinfect the neck of the ampoule as it is not compatible with the Pedea solution. Therefore, for asepsis of the ampoule before use, ethanol 60% or isopropyl alcohol 70% is recommended. When disinfecting the neck of the ampoule with an antiseptic, to avoid any interaction with the Pedea solution, the ampoule must be completely dry before it is opened. This medicinal product must not be mixed with other medicinal products except sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection or glucose 50 mg/ml (5%) solution. In order to avoid any substantial variation of pH due to the presence of acidic medicinal products that could remain in the infusion line, the latter must be rinsed before and after administration of Pedea with 1.5 to 2 ml of either sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection or glucose 50 mg/ml (5%) solution.
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Pedea 5 mg/ml solution for injection comes as injection containing 5mg/ml. Always follow the dose your doctor or pharmacist has given you, and read the leaflet that comes with the medicine.
The active substance in Pedea 5 mg/ml solution for injection is ibuprofen.
This leaflet reproduces the patient information leaflet approved for Pedea 5 mg/ml solution for injection, as published on the electronic medicines compendium (emc). The version printed inside your medicine’s packaging is the one that applies to you.
Whether a medicine is available over the counter or on prescription only depends on its licence. Check the leaflet, or ask your pharmacist — they can tell you straight away.
The text above reproduces the patient information leaflet approved for this medicine, restructured for easier reading.
Treatment of a haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus in preterm newborn infants less than 34 weeks of gestational age.
Treatment with Pedea should only be carried out in a neonatal intensive care unit under the supervision of an experienced neonatologist.
Posology
A course of therapy is defined as three intravenous injections of Pedea given at 24-hour intervals. The first injection should be given after the first 6 hours of life.
The ibuprofen dose is adjusted to the body weight as follows:
- 1st injection: 10 mg/kg,
- 2nd and 3rd injections: 5 mg/kg.
If anuria or manifest oliguria occurs after the first or second dose, the next dose should be withheld until urine output returns to normal levels.
If the ductus arteriosus does not close 48 hours after the last injection or if it re-opens, a second course of 3 doses, as above, may be given.
If the condition is unchanged after the second course of therapy, surgery of the patent ductus arteriosus may then be necessary.
Method of administration
Precautions to be taken before handling or administering the medicinal product
For intravenous use only.
Pedea should be administered as a short infusion over 15 minutes, preferably undiluted. If necessary, the injection volume may be adjusted with either sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection or glucose 50 mg/ml (5%) solution for injection. Any unused portion of the solution should be discarded.
The total volume of solution injected should take into account the total daily fluid volume administered.
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients listed in section 6.1;
- Life-threatening infection;
- Active bleeding, especially intracranial or gastrointestinal haemorrhage;
- Thrombocytopenia or coagulation defects;
- Significant impairment of renal function;
- Congenital heart disease in which patency of the ductus arteriosus is necessary for satisfactory pulmonary or systemic blood flow (e.g. pulmonary atresia, severe tetralogy of Fallot, severe coarctation of the aorta);
- Known or suspected necrotising enterocolitis;
Before administration of Pedea an adequate echocardiographic examination should be performed in order to detect a haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus and to exclude pulmonary hypertension and ductal-dependent congenital heart disease.
Since prophylactic use in the first 3 days of life (starting within 6 hours of birth) in preterm newborn infants less than 28 weeks of gestational age was associated with increased pulmonary and renal adverse events, Pedea should not be used prophylactically at any gestational age (see sections 4.8 and 5.1). In particular, severe hypoxemia with pulmonary hypertension was reported in 3 infants within one hour of the first infusion and was reversed within 30 min after start of inhaled nitric oxide therapy.
If hypoxaemia occurs during or following Pedea infusion, close attention should be paid to pulmonary pressure.
Since ibuprofen was shown in vitro to displace bilirubin from its binding site to albumin, the risk of bilirubin encephalopathy in premature newborn infants may be increased (see section 5.2). Therefore, ibuprofen should not be used in infants with marked elevated bilirubin concentration.
As a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), ibuprofen may mask the usual signs and symptoms of infection. Pedea must therefore be used cautiously in the presence of an infection (see also section 4.3).
Pedea should be administered carefully to avoid extravasation and potential resultant irritation to tissues.
As ibuprofen may inhibit platelet aggregation, premature neonates should be monitored for signs of bleeding.
As ibuprofen may decrease the clearance of aminoglycosides, strict surveillance of their serum levels is recommended during co-administration with ibuprofen.
Renal tubular acidosis and hypokalaemia may occur following acute overdose and in patients taking ibuprofen products over long periods at high doses (typically greater than 4 weeks), including doses exceeding the recommended daily dose.
Careful monitoring of both renal and gastrointestinal function is recommended.
Severe skin reactions
Serious skin reactions, some of them fatal, including exfoliative dermatitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis have been reported rarely in association with the use of NSAIDSs (see section 4.8). Patients appear to be at highest risk of these reactions early in the course of therapy, the onset of the reaction occurring in the majority of cases within the first month of treatment. Acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS syndrome) have been reported in relation to ibuprofen-containing products. Ibuprofen should be discontinued, at the first appearance of signs and symptoms of severe skin reactions, such as skin rash, mucosal lesions, or any other sign of hypersensitivity.
In preterm newborn infants less than 27 weeks of gestational age, the closure rate of the ductus arteriosus (33 to 50%) was shown to be low at the recommended dose regimen (see section 5.1).
This medicinal product contains less than 1 mmol sodium (15 mg) per 2 ml, i.e. essentially 'sodium-free'.
The concomitant use of Pedea with the following medicinal products is not recommended:
- diuretics: ibuprofen may reduce the effect of diuretics; diuretics can increase the risk of nephrotoxicity of NSAIDs in dehydrated patients.
- anticoagulants: ibuprofen may increase the effect of anticoagulants and enhance the risk of bleeding.
- corticosteroids: ibuprofen may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.
- nitric oxide: since both medicinal products inhibit platelet function, their combination may in theory increase the risk of bleeding.
- other NSAIDs: the concomitant use of more than one NSAID should be avoided because of the increased risk of adverse reactions.
- aminoglycosides: since ibuprofen may decrease the clearance of aminoglycosides, their co-administration may increase the risk of nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity (see section 4.4).
Not relevant
Not relevant
Data are currently available on approximately 1,000 preterm newborn from both the literature concerning ibuprofen and clinical trials with Pedea. Causality of adverse events reported in the preterm newborn is difficult to assess since they may be related to the haemodynamic consequences of the patent ductus arteriosus as well as to direct effects of ibuprofen.
Reported adverse reactions are listed below, by system organ class and by frequency. Frequencies are defined as: very common (≥ 1/10), common (≥1/100, <1/10) and uncommon (≥1/1,000, <1/100).
Within each frequency grouping, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.
Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Very common: Thrombocytopenia, Neutropenia
Metabolism and nutrition disorders
Not known : Hypokalaemia**
Nervous system disorders
Common: Intraventricular haemorrhage, Periventricular leukomalacia
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders
Very common: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia*
Common: Pulmonary haemorrhage
Uncommon: Hypoxemia*
Gastrointestinal disorders
Common: Necrotizing enterocolitis, Intestinal perforation
Uncommon: Gastrointestinal haemorrhage
Unknown: Gastric perforation
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
Not known: Acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS syndrome)
Renal and urinary disorders
Common: Oliguria, Fluid retention, Haematuria
Uncommon: Acute renal failure
Not known : Renal tubular acidosis**
Investigations
Very Common: Blood creatinine increased, Blood sodium decreased
* see below
** Renal tubular acidosis and hypokalaemia have been reported in the post-marketing setting typically following prolonged use of the ibuprofen component at higher than recommended doses.
In a clinical curative trial involving 175 preterm newborn infants less than 35 weeks of gestational age, the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks post-conceptional age was 13/81 (16%) for indomethacin versus 23/94 (24%) for ibuprofen.
In a clinical trial where Pedea was administered prophylactically during the first 6 hours of life, severe hypoxemia with pulmonary hypertension was reported in 3 newborn infants less than 28 weeks of gestational age. This occurred within one hour of the first infusion and was reversed within 30 minutes after the inhalation of nitric oxide. There have also been post-marketing reports of pulmonary hypertension where Pedea was administered to premature neonates in the therapeutic setting.
Reporting of suspected adverse reactions
Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the national reporting system: Yellow Card Scheme, Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
Prolonged use at higher than recommended doses may result in severe hypokalaemia and renal tubular acidosis. Symptoms may include reduced level of consciousness and generalised weakness (see section 4.4 and section 4.8).
No case of overdose has been reported with intravenous ibuprofen in preterm newborn infants.
However, overdose has been described in infants and children administered oral ibuprofen: CNS depression, seizures, gastrointestinal disturbances, bradycardia, hypotension, apnoea, abnormal renal function, haematuria have been observed.
Massive overdose (up to more than 1000 mg/kg) has been reported to induce coma, metabolic acidosis, and transient renal failure. All patients recovered with conventional treatment. Only one recorded death has been published: after an overdose of 469 mg/kg, a 16-month old child developed an apnoeic episode with seizures and a fatal aspiration pneumonia.
The management of ibuprofen overdose is primarily supportive.
Medicines sold in Romania with the same active substance: Cunoscut în România ca
Same active substance. The strength, the form and whether you need a prescription can differ. Always ask a pharmacist before you switch. Romanian medicines in the UK →
Medicines sold in Poland with the same active substance: W Polsce znany jako
Same active substance. The strength, the form and whether you need a prescription can differ. Always ask a pharmacist before you switch. Polish medicines in the UK →
Ask anything about Pedea 5 mg/ml solution for injection. The assistant answers only from this leaflet — if the leaflet does not cover it, it will say so. It does not give medical advice.
Answers come from the patient leaflet published on the electronic medicines compendium (emc). They are not medical advice. Ask a pharmacist or your GP if you are unsure. For urgent help call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.
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