To present the guidelines of the French Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery concerning the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in pediatric ENT infections.

Based on a critical analysis of the medical literature up to November 2016, a multidisciplinary workgroup of 11 practitioners wrote clinical practice guidelines. Levels of evidence were classified according to the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system: GRADE A, B, C or “expert opinion”. The first version of the text was reworked by the workgroup following comments by the 22 members of the reading group.

The main recommendations are: NSAIDs are indicated at analgesic doses (e.g. 20–30 mg/kg/day for ibuprofen) in combination with paracetamol (acetaminophen) in uncomplicated pediatric ENT infections (acute otitis media, tonsillitis, upper respiratory infections, and maxillary sinusitis) if: o pain is of medium intensity (visual analogue scale (VAS) score 3–5 or “Evaluation Enfant Douleur” (EVENDOL) child pain score 4–7) and insufficiently relieved by first-line paracetamol (residual VAS≥3 or EVENDOL≥4); o pain is moderate to intense (VAS 5–7 or EVENDOL 7–10). When combined, paracetamol and ibuprofen are ideally taken simultaneously every 6h. It is recommended: (1) o not to prescribe NSAIDs in severe or complicated pediatric ENT infections; (2) o to suspend NSAIDs treatment in case of unusual clinical presentation of the infection (duration or symptoms); (3) o not to prescribe NSAIDs for more than 72h.