Utilização de medicamentos por crianças atendidas em creches

Abstract

ResumoPara identificar o padrão de utilização de medicamentos em crianças, foram acompanhadas 1.382 crianças matriculadas em 15 creches municipais de São Paulo (SP)(Brasil), durante 2 meses; 512 crianças (37%) utilizaram 1.409 medicamentos (média de 50,9 medicamentos/100 crianças/ mês). Mais de 80% das crianças menores de dois anos utilizaram um ou mais medicamentos, enquanto nas outras idades esse consumo foi sempre inferior a 45%. Os fármacos mais utilizados foram os antiinfecciosos, medicamentos com ação no aparelho respiratório, e analgésicos/antitérmicos utilizados, respectivamente, por 20%, 19% e 14% das crianças estudadas. A maioria dos fármacos foi prescrita por médicos (93%), porém, mais de 65% dos antibióticos utilizados foram considerados inadequados; houve grande consumo de medicamentos de ação questionável e de fármacos não aprovados para utilização em crianças. (decongestants, expectorants, vitamin and mineral supplements) and usage of as yet un approved medications for children (diclofenac, benzidamin, iodides) Uso de medicamentos

Automedicação em crianças e adolescentes

“…[7][8][9][10][11]13,25 The lower frequency of self-medication observed in age group < 7 years should be noted. A study carried out in Holland to analyze the consumption of pharmaceuticals in individuals < 17 years showed that the prevalence of consumption is significantly higher in children < 1 year of age, followed by the 2-5 years' age group.…”

“…This finding has been attributed to the social roles that are traditionally reserved to mothers, including the role of promoting health in the family. 9,11,13,25 In 20.1% of the cases, advice for self-medication was given at the drugstore, a common fact in Brazil and other countries. 3,4,6,11,[19][20][21]25,27 In our study, according to the interviewees' opinion, only 1.8% of the cases of selfmedication were influenced by the media, similarly to what has been described for another medium-sized municipality in southern Brazil (2.7%).…”

“…1,2 The consumption of pharmaceuticals can be considered an indirect indicator of the quality of health care services, [2][3][4][5][6] and children and adolescents are strongly susceptible to the irrational use of drugs with and without medical control. [7][8][9][10][11][12] Economic, political and cultural factors have contributed to the growth and spread of self-medication worlwide. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] These factors are related with aspects such as the great availability of products in the current days; the state of health that a pharmaceutical agent may represent; irresponsible publicity; pressure to convert prescription-only drugs into over-thecounter drugs; quality of health care; difficult access to health care services in poor countries.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Studies focusing on the use of pharmaceuticals in children and adolescents are rare, mainly in developing countries. [7][8][9][10][11] Moreover, the prevalence of self-medication in Brazilian children has been assessed only by a few nonsystematic studies, which found results from 7.1 to 53.2% for different age groups. 7,9-11 Therefore, we carried out an epidemiologic, population-based study with children and adolescents aged ≤ 18 years from two medium-sized countryside municipalities from the state of São Paulo (Limeira and Piracicaba Participants were informed of the objective of the study; an informed consent form was signed by the parent/tutor.…”

Uso de medicamentos do nascimento aos dois anos: Coorte de Nascimentos de Pelotas, RS, 2004

“…Such an increase may indicate that mothers learn and incorporate treatment practices originally recommended by a physician, but which may not always be adequate to the current situation. 6 According to a study of Australian children, selfmedication is facilitated by the availability of overthe-counter medicines, which are widely used even though there is no evidence regarding their effi cacy or information on potential risk of toxicity. 1 Over-thecounter medicines, especially those for cold and fl u symptoms, carry the risk of overdose, underdose, and adverse effects.…”