Lima Memorial Health System Logo
Approximate ER WAIT TIME WAIT TIME MACRO
Lima Memorial eHealth
Careers
Ways to Give

Health Library

Ketoprofen overdose
     
Print-Friendly
Bookmarks

Ketoprofen overdose

 

Ketoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is used to treat pain, swelling, and inflammation. Ketoprofen overdose occurs when someone takes more than the normal or recommended amount of this medicine. This can be by accident or on purpose.

This article is for information only. DO NOT use it to treat or manage an actual overdose. If you or someone you are with has overdosed, call the local emergency number (such as 911), or the local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States.

Poisonous Ingredient

 

Ketoprofen can be harmful in large amounts.

 

Symptoms

 

Below are symptoms of a ketoprofen overdose in different parts of the body.

EYES, EARS, NOSE, AND THROAT

  • Blurred vision
  • Ringing in the ears

HEART AND BLOOD

  • Congestive heart failure (chest discomfort, shortness of breath, leg swelling)
  • High blood pressure or low blood pressure

STOMACH AND INTESTINES

  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea (common)
  • Possible bleeding from the stomach and intestines
  • Stomach pain
  • Vomiting (common, sometimes with blood)

LUNGS AND AIRWAYS

  • Difficulty breathing
  • Wheezing

NERVOUS SYSTEM

  • Headache
  • Agitation
  • Coma (decreased level of consciousness and lack of responsiveness) in severe overdoses
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness
  • Dizziness (common)
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Numbness and tingling
  • Seizures (in severe overdoses)
  • Unsteadiness

SKIN

  • Blistering rash
  • Bruising
  • Sweating

 

Home Care

 

Seek medical help right away. Do not make the person throw up unless poison control or a health care provider tells you to.

 

Before Calling Emergency

 

Have this information ready:

  • Person's age, weight, and condition
  • Name of the product (and strength, if known)
  • Time it was swallowed
  • Amount swallowed
  • If the medicine was prescribed for the person

 

Poison Control

 

The local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also get online poison help now at Poisonhelp.org. Just enter the product, poison, or medicine to get expert help.

 

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

 

Take the container to the hospital with you, if possible.

Your provider will measure and monitor your vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

Tests that may be done include:

  • Blood and urine tests
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Chest x-ray
  • Endoscopy -- camera placed down the throat to check for burns in the esophagus and stomach

Treatment may include:

  • Fluids through a vein (by IV)
  • Medicine to treat stomach inflammation and bleeding, breathing problems, and other symptoms
  • Activated charcoal
  • Laxative
  • Tube through the mouth into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
  • Breathing support, including a tube through the mouth into the lungs and connected to a breathing machine (ventilator)

 

Outlook (Prognosis)

 

How well someone does depends on the amount of ketoprofen that was swallowed and how quickly treatment is received. The faster medical help is given, the better the chance for recovery.

A mild overdose of ketoprofen does not usually cause serious problems. The person may have some stomach pain and vomiting (possibly with blood).

However, a large amount of internal bleeding is possible, and a blood transfusion may be needed. Passing a tube with a camera through the mouth into the stomach may be needed to stop the internal bleeding.

If kidney damage is severe, dialysis may be needed until kidney function returns. In some cases, the damage is permanent.

A large overdose can cause serious damage to children and adults. Death may occur.

 

 

Open References

References

Aronson JK. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In: Aronson JK, ed. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. 16th ed. Waltham, MA: Elsevier; 2016:236-272.

Hatten BW. Aspirin and nonsteroidal agents. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 139.

Meehan TJ. Care of the poisoned patient. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 135.

Nelson LS, Calello DP. Acute poisoning. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 96.

BACK TO TOPText only

 

        A Closer Look

         

          Self Care

           

            Tests for Ketoprofen overdose

             
               

              Review Date: 10/14/2025

              Reviewed By: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

              The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

              © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

              All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.
              © 1997- adam.comAll rights reserved.