Profile of medication consumption for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 among students at a public university
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective: To assess the profile of drug consumption for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 within a university context and identify the main causes of self-medication. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted with 1187 individuals of both sexes. Users were investigated regarding the suspicion of COVID-19 and doubts related to the use of medications during the infection. The data obtained were tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel® software. The research is based on CNS resolution 466/12 with approval by the Research Ethics Committee. Results: Of the respondents, 54.3% (644) were suspected of having COVID-19. In general, azithromycin was the most used drug. Most students (99.2%) claimed to know the concept of self-medication. Of the 109 who performed this practice, 93.6% used ivermectin, 65.1% did so at the recommendation of family, and friends because they believed it would help prevent infection. Conclusion: It is concluded that self-medication among university students was influenced by the insecurity arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and their personal relationships in addition to the excessive number of information disseminated by various media
Article Details
Copyright © | All rights reserved.
The journal holds the exclusive copyright for the publication of this article under the terms of Brazilian law 9610/98.
Partial reproduction
The use of parts of the texts, figures and questionnaire of the article is free, being mandatory the citation of the authors and journal.
Total reproduction
It is expressly prohibited and must be authorized by the journal.
References
2. ANDRADE EA, et al. Perfil de uso de medicamentos e automedicação, em uma população universitária, frente a pandemia da Covid-19. Brazilian Journal of Development, 2021; 7(7): 73772–73784.
3. ARRAIS PSD, et al. Perfil da automedicação no Brasil. Revista Saúde Pública, 1997; 31(1): 71–7.
4. BANERJEE D e MEENA KS. COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media. Frontiers in Public Health, 2021; 9: 1–8.
5. BARCELOS TN, et al. Análise de fake news veiculadas durante a pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil. Revista Panamericana Salud Pública, 2021; 45: 1-8.
6. BARRETO MS, et al. Fake news sobre a pandemia da COVID-19: percepção de profissionais de saúde e seus familiares. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 2021; 55: e20210007
7. CALELLO DP, et al. American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Cautions Against Off-Label Prescribing of Ivermectin for the Prevention or Treatment of COVID-19. Journal of Medical Toxicology, 2022; 18: 69–70.
8. CFF. 2020. In: Levantamento mostra como o medo da Covid-19 impactou venda de medicamentos. Disponível em:
9. FALCÃO P e SOUZA AB. Pandemia de desinformação: as fake news no contexto da Covid-19 no Brasil. Revista Eletrônica de Comunicação, Informação e Inovação em Saúde, 2021; 15(1): 55–71.
10. FRANCISCO RA, et al. Riscos da Automedicação Durante a Pandemia COVID-19. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 2021; 2(11): 1–17.
11. GALATO D, et al. Automedicação em estudantes universitários: a influência da área de formação. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 2012; 17(12): 3323–3330.
12. GAMA ASM e SECOLI SR. Self-medication among nursing students in thecação em estudantes de enf state of Amazonas-Brazil. Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem, 2017; 38(1): 1–7.
13. GARCIA LP e DUARTE E. Infodemia: excesso de quantidade em detrimento da qualidade das informações sobre a COVID-19. Epidemiologia e servicos de saude, 2020; v. 29, n. 4, p. e2020186.
14. GIMENES LS, et al. A influência da propaganda de medicamentos na automedicação. Amazônia Science & Health, 2019; 7(2): 14–19.
15. GOMES JC, et al. Riscos da Automedicação na Pandemia por COVID-19: O Dilema Entre Informações Midiáticas e Científicas. Ciências da Saúde no Brasil, 2020; 40–46.
16. HUANG GC, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet, 2020; 395: 497–506.
17. ICTQ. 2022. In: Aproximadamente 90% dos brasileiros realizam automedicação. Disponível em:
18. ISLAM MS, et al. COVID-19-Related infodemic and its impact on public health: A global social media analysis. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2020; 103(4): 1621–1629.
19. KRISHNAN A, et al. A narrative review of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): clinical, epidemiological characteristics, and systemic manifestations. Internal and Emergency Medicine, 2021; 16(4): 815–830.
20. DFNDR LAB. 2018. In: Relatório da segurança digital no Brasil: segundo trimestre – 2018. Disponível em: https://www.psafe.com/dfndr-lab/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/dfndr-lab-Relat%C3%B3rio-da-Seguran%C3%A7a-Digital-no-Brasil-2%C2%BA-trimestre-de-2018.pdf. Acessado em 23 out. 2022.
21. LAI CC, et al. Co-infections among patients with COVID- 19: The need for combination therapy with non-anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents? Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 2020; 53: 505–512.
22. LIMA FLO, et al. Diagnóstico da COVID-19: importância dos testes laboratoriais e dos exames de imagem. Research, Society and Development, 2020; 9(9): 1–15.
23. LÓPEZ-MEDINA E, et al. Effect of Ivermectin on Time to Resolution of Symptoms among Adults with Mild COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 2021; 325(14): 1426–1435.
24. MELO JRR, et al. Automedicação e uso indiscriminado de medicamentos durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 2021; 37(4): 5.
25. MOLENTO MB. Ivermectin against COVID-19: The unprecedented consequences in Latin America. One Health, 2021; 13.
26. MOURA JM, et al. Indicação e uso de azitromicina no tratamento do COVID-19: revisão da literatura / Indication of azithromycin in the treatment of COVID-19: literature review. Brazilian Journal of Development, 2021; 7(6): 56547–56556.
27. NAVES JDOS, et al. Automedicação: uma abordagem qualitativa de suas motivações. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 2010; 15: 1751–1762.
28. NETO AJDM, et al. Prevenção Quaternária e a Prescrição de Cloroquina e Hidroxicloroquina na COVID-19. Revista Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade, 2021; 16(43): 2573.
29. OKUMU N, et al. Evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of adding ivermectin to treatment in severe COVID-19 patients. BMC Infectious Diseases, 2021; 21(411): 1–11.
30. OMS. The role of the pharmacist in self-care and self-medication. 1998. Disponível em: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/65860. Acessado em: 30 de setembro de 2021.
31. OPAS. Entenda a infodemia e a desinformação na luta contra a COVID-19. Disponivel em:
32. PANDEY S, et al. Ivermectin in COVID-19: What do we know? Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews, 2020; 14(6): 1921–1922.
33. PRZYSIEZNY B, et al. Perfil clínico e epidemiológico dos casos de COVID-19 na cidade de Brusque, Santa Catarina. Associação Catarinense de Medicina, 2020; 49(2): 129–142.
34. RAFIQ K, et al. Self-Medication in the COVID-19 Pandemic : Survival of the Fittest. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2021; 1–5.
35. RAJTER JC, et al. Use of Ivermectin Is Associated With Lower Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019: The Ivermectin in COVID Nineteen Study. Chest, 2021; 159(1): 85–92.
36. REIS AA e SANTOS RDS. O padrão ouro no diagnóstico molecular na COVID19: O que sabemos sobre a soberania deste método? Brazilian Journal of Health Review, 2020; 3(3): 5986–5992.
37. SANTOS-PINTO CDB, et al. “Kit-covid” and the popular pharmacy program in Brazil. Cadernos de Saude Publica, 2021; 37: 2.
38. SCHUELTER-TREVISOL F, et al. Automedicação em universitários. Sociedade Brasileira de Clínica Médica, 2011; 9(6): 414–7.
39. SETO IIC, et al. Aspectos epidemiológicos, clínicos e olfatórios de pacientes com COVID-19. Revista Eletrônica Acervo Saúde, 2021; 13(2): e6348.
40. SHOKOOHI M, et al. A syndemic of COVID-19 and methanol poisoning in Iran: Time for Iran to consider alcohol use as a public health challenge? Alcohol, 2020; 87: 25–27.
41. SILVA JACD, et al. Prevalência de automedicação e os fatores associados entre os usuários de um Centro de Saúde Universitário. Revista Brasileira de Clínica Médica, 2013; 11(1): 27–30.
42. SOUZA MNC, et al. Ocorrência de Automedicação na população Brasileira como estratégia preventiva ao SARS-CoV-2. Research, Society and Development, 2021; 10(1): 1–9.
43. STRUYF T, et al. Signs and symptoms to determine if a patient presenting in primary care or hospital outpatient settings has COVID-19 disease (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2021; 19(7): 1–93.
44. TENTOLOURIS A, et al. COVID-19: time to flatten the infodemic curve. Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 2021; 21(2): 161–165.