Although self-medication is widely developed, there are few detailed data about its adverse drug reactions (ADRs). This study investigated the main characteristics of ADRs with self-medication recorded in the Midi-Pyrénées PharmacoVigilance between 2008 and 2014. Self-medication included first OTC drugs and second formerly prescribed drugs later used without medical advice (reuse of previously prescribed drugs). Among the 12 365 notifications recorded, 160 (1.3%) were related to SM with 186 drugs. Around three-forth of the ADRs were 'serious'. Mean age was 48.8 years with 56.3% females. The most frequent ADRs were gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric and main drug classes involved NSAIDs, analgesics, and benzodiazepines. Phytotherapy-homeopathy accounted for 9.1% of drugs.
This is the first study about SS based on a large pharmacovigilance database and published in English. Our results reveal not only the frequent involvement of antidepressants and tramadol, the importance of DDIs (both pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic), but also the significant risk of SS even with a single serotonergic drug used at normal dose.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.