Availability of Cardiodiabetological Drugs in Poland during the First Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Study

Bartosz M Nowak,Monika Szulińska,Mikołaj Kamiński,Paweł Bogdański,Bartłomiej Owczarek

doi:10.3390/biomed2010013

Bartosz M Nowak, Monika Szulińska + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/biomed2010013

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Journal: BioMed	Publication Date: Mar 9, 2022
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Poznan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

There were worries that the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a shortage of supplies of some drugs. We aimed to analyze if the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the availability drop of different cardiodiabetological medicaments. Special attention was put to combined therapies and to investigate the general availability of these drugs. Data were obtained from the Polish startup company GdziePoLek regarding the availability of 121 cardiodiabetolocigal drugs divided into 23 separate categories in Polish pharmacies. The period of the analysis was limited from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020. The threshold of a 20% decrease of median availability was set to found drugs with the most severe drop in availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also identified medicaments with a median availability of less than 50%. We identified two drugs with the most severe drop in availability level during COVID-19 pandemics: acenocoumarol (decrease by 52.0%) and nitrendipine (decrease by 98.3%). In 2019 and 2020, 27 of 121 drugs had a median availability lower than 50%. The limited availability concerned the most novel agents and polypills, mostly non-insulin antidiabetic drugs. The decrease in drug availability in Poland was not as severe as expected. Accessibility to some novel non-refunded medicaments is limited.

Highlights

Academic Editor: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of preterm morbidity and mortality in Poland [1]
We assume that a shortage of cardiodiabetological drug stocks due to a national emergency may lead to the worsening control of cardiovascular diseases
Nitrendipine reached the nadir of nearly complete inaccessibility in the sample of pharmacies across Poland, while acenocoumarol was still available in nearly 48% of pharmacies

Summary

Introduction

Academic Editor: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of preterm morbidity and mortality in Poland [1]. Cardiodiabetological drugs are one of the critical interventions in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events [2]. For this reason, we assume that a shortage of cardiodiabetological drug stocks due to a national emergency may lead to the worsening control of cardiovascular diseases. The severity of restrictions endorsed by the governments on the COVID-19 pandemic differs all around the world. The hindrance in international shipping, industry, and workforce mobility raises concerns about the availability of essential medical products. Poland’s pharmacy industry relies on regular supplies of essential ingredients produced in Mainland

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