Sales of “COVID kit” drugs and adverse drug reactions reported by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency

Abstract

Off-label use of azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, and ivermectin (the “COVID kit”) has been suggested for COVID-19 treatment in Brazil without clinical or scientific evidence of efficacy. These drugs have known adverse drug reactions (ADR). This study aimed to analyze if the sales of drugs in the “COVID kit” are correlated to the reported number of ADR after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Data was obtained from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) website on reported sales and ADRs for azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, and ivermectin for all Brazilian states. The period from March 2019 to February 2020 (before the pandemic) was compared to that from March 2020 to February 2021 (during the pandemic). Trend adjustment was performed for time series data and cross-correlation analysis to investigate correlation between sales and ADR within the same month (lag 0) and in the following months (lag 1 and lag 2). Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the magnitude of the correlations. After the pandemic onset, sales of all investigated drugs increased significantly (69.75% for azithromycin, 10,856,481.39% for hydroxychloroquine, and 12,291,129.32% for ivermectin). ADR levels of all medications but azithromycin were zero before the pandemic, but increased after its onset. Cross-correlation analysis was significant in lag 1 for all drugs nationwide. Spearman’s correlation was moderate for azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine but absent for ivermectin. Data must be interpreted cautiously since no active search for ADR was performed. Our results show that the increased and indiscriminate use of ”COVID kit“ during the pandemic correlates to an increased occurrence of ADRs.

Inefficacious drugs against covid-19: analysis of sales, tweets, and search engines

“…Based on these results, Spearman’s correlation was used to measure the correlation between the variables. Cross-correlation 10 was then applied to analyze the relationship between the sales of each drug, assuming time lags of zero to three months for each of the variables analyzed in relation to the sales volume.…”

What are the latest covid drugs and treatments?

“…Some places are still widely using drugs that have been shown to be ineffective, such as antibiotics and ivermectin—the latter still commonly used in Brazil, for instance 3. Butler says that this variation in care can be justified to some extent by different vaccination rates, deprivation and nutrition, coinfection with other organisms, and problems in accessing modern antivirals.…”

Implicações da pandemia da COVID-19 sobre o consumo de produtos com fins profiláticos controversos no estado da Bahia, Brasil

“…A prática de automedicação vem ocorrendo na população brasileira, mesmo antes da pandemia da COVID-19, contudo os grupos terapêuticos mais utilizados foram os analgésicos e os relaxantes musculares isentos de prescrição, mas com possíveis riscos (Arrais et al, 2016). Dessa maneira, a falta de perspectivas sobre intervenções medicamentosas eficazes para controlar a infecção pelo coronavírus fez aumentar significativamente o consumo de ivermectina, hidroxicloroquina, azitormicina e corticóides (Hentschke-Lopes et al, 2022;Melo et al, 2021) e consequentemente suas reações adversas.…”

“…No início da pandemia, em um cenário de incertezas e ausência de tratamento eficaz para combater o vírus, a população buscou nos remédios caseiros, vitaminas, substâncias ou terapias não convencionais, alternativas para proteger a saúde (Nascimento- Mendes et al, 2020, Matta et al, 2021, Teixeira & Miranda, 2021, somou-se a isso, o consumo indiscriminado dos fármacos ivermectina (antiparasitário) e hidroxycloroquina (antimalárico), impulsionado pela publicação de resultados preliminares sobre o efeito antiviral das drogas (Caly et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2020). Mesmo após a divulgação das reações adversas ao organismo e a ineficiência destes medicamentos no tratamento da COVID-19 (Cavalcanti et al, 2020;Self et al, 2020;Popp et al, 2021;Hentschke-Lopes et al, 2022;) parte da população manteve o uso por indicação de profissionais de saúde, gestores políticos ou divulgação de notícias falsas em sites da internet, redes sociais e aplicativos de mensagens.…”

“…O problema associado ao uso mal orientado de qualquer substância, receitas caseiras, micronutrientes e medicamentos tem relação com a ausência de comprovação científica notável do seu efeito contra a COVID-19, além da possibilidade de gerar sérios agravos à saúde dos usuários (Teixeira & Miranda, 2021;Hentschke-Lopes et al, 2022). Desde o início de 2021, a vacinação contra a COVID-19 tem sido a principal fonte de proteção da população contra a doença que, até momento, contaminou mais de 35,5 milhões de pessoas no país, modificou hábitos sociais, provocou transtornos à saúde física e mental e deixa um registro de mais de 691 mil brasileiros mortos (WHO, 2022).…”