Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the reporting of adverse drug reactions associated with self-medication

Gras, Marion; Gras‐Champel, Valérie; Moragny, Julien; Delaunay, Paul; Laugier, Delphine; Masmoudi, Kamel; Liabeuf, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.pharma.2021.02.003

Cited by 24 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The use of antibiotics during hospitalization could be explained by the confusion of a negative test in a patient with pneumonia, considering that the majority of the test made were serological rapid test with a limited value in diagnosis of acute COVID-19 infection. In addition, self-medication rates before admission to the hospital, a demonstrated harmful practice [14,51,52] were very high in our study (28.9%), being corticosteroids and antibiotics the most frequently self-administered.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 48%

High mortality among hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in Peru: A single centre retrospective cohort study

et al. 2022

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Background Peru is the country with the world’s highest COVID-19 death rate per capita. Characteristics associated with increased mortality among adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in this setting are not well described. Methods Retrospective, single-center cohort study including 1537 adult patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia between May 2020 and August 2020 at a national hospital in Lima, Peru. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. Results In-hospital mortality was 49.71%. The mean age was 60 ± 14.25 years, and 68.38% were males. We found an association between mortality and inflammatory markers, mainly leukocytes, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein and ferritin. A multivariate model adjusted for age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and corticosteroid use demonstrated that in-hospital mortality was associated with greater age (RR: 2.01, 95%CI: 1.59–2.52) and a higher level of oxygen requirement (RR: 2.77, 95%CI: 2.13–3.62). Conclusions: In-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients in Peru is high and is associated with greater age and higher oxygen requirements.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 48%

High mortality among hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in Peru: A single centre retrospective cohort study

et al. 2022

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“…This review reported the frequencies of self-medication with antibiotics from selected studies in the EMR countries (between 20% to 45%) and showed some patterns of SMA could be deduced. Self-medication to prevent or treat COVID-19 has become quite common among the public [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. The rapid transmission and severity of COVID-19 disease sparked fear and stress among people worldwide due to the lack of definitive treatment and the disease’s elusive nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the significance of the self-medication impact of COVID-19 in any region can have an influence on the prevalence of such problems. Generally, the SMA was reported in several studies around the world including in developed and developing countries [ 33 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Medication with Antibiotics during COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries: A Review

et al. 2022

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Self-treatment with medicines including treatment with antibiotics is a growing global concern, as it can cause public health problems, such as antibiotic resistance and drug toxicity. Therefore, the significance of the self-medication impact of COVID-19 in any region can have an influence on the prevalence of such problems. The review aimed to investigate the self-treatment with antibiotics among the general population in Eastern Mediterranean region countries during COVID-19 pandemic. A comprehensive review of literature in four databases was conducted for the pandemic period from January 2020 to the end of March 2022. Nine studies related to self-treatment with antibiotics were found. The studies were homogeneous in terms of assessing the antibiotic self-treatment usage during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population and among community pharmacies. The prevalence of self-treatment with antibiotics ranged from 20.8% to 45.8% between the studies. The main reasons for that were cost-saving, fear of COVID-19 infection, quarantine, and ease of accessibility without time limits. Antibiotic self-treatment has been high during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it was less reported during the study period than before the time of the pandemic. There is a need for more restrictions on dispensing antibiotics from community pharmacies. In addition, there is a need to raise awareness among the population regarding self-treatment with antibiotics.

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“…Demonstrating a higher proportion of medication errors in the COVID-19 period. 18 In addition, several studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of self-medication during the pandemic; Acharya et al . found a prevalence of 50.4% of self-medication among medical students and staff of a tertiary care center.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug safety of frequently used drugs and substances for self-medication in COVID-19

Baracaldo-Santamaría

Pabón-Londoño

Rojas-Rodriguez

2022

Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the behavior of self-medication has increased. The dissemination of misleading information regarding the efficacy of certain drugs or substances for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has been the major contributing factor for this phenomenon. Alongside with the increase in self-medication behavior, the inherent risks to this act such as drug–drug interactions, adverse events, drug toxicity, and masking of symptoms have also increased. Self-medication in the context of COVID-19 has led to drug misuse leading in some cases to the development of fatal adverse drug reactions. It is important that during this ongoing pandemic drugs with potential clinical efficacy against COVID-19 are adequately analyzed regarding their efficacy, safety, and monitoring. The aim of this review is to describe the available evidence regarding the efficacy, safety, and monitoring of the drugs and substances that have been shown to be frequently used for self-medication in patients with COVID-19 (hydroxychloroquine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ivermectin, azithromycin, vitamins, aspirin, and chlorine dioxide) to adequately characterize their risks, safe use, monitoring strategies, and to reinforce the concept that these substances should not be used for self-medication and require a medical prescription. Plain Language Summary Drug safety of frequently used drugs and substances for self-medication in COVID-19 Dissemination of information about potential COVID-19 treatments has led individuals to self-medicate and expose themselves to risks such as drug–drug interactions, side effects, antibiotic resistance, and misdiagnosis. There is a need to review the medical literature to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drugs and substances commonly used by the population for the treatment and prevention of SARS CoV-2 infection. In this review, we included drugs that are frequently used for self-medication and commonly advertised such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, chlorine dioxide, azithromycin, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, among others. A brief introduction of the drug and its mechanism of action, followed by a summary of the efficacy in COVID-19 and safety, will be described for each drug in order to promote their responsible use.

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Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the reporting of adverse drug reactions associated with self-medication

Cited by 24 publications

References 14 publications

High mortality among hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in Peru: A single centre retrospective cohort study

High mortality among hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in Peru: A single centre retrospective cohort study

Self-Medication with Antibiotics during COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries: A Review

Drug safety of frequently used drugs and substances for self-medication in COVID-19

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