Patient Self-medication Research Articles

A Study on Impact of Self Medication in Adults and Paediatrics in COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Self-medication is defined as the use of medicinal products by the consumer to treat self-recognized disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of a medication prescribed by a physician for chronic or recurring diseases or symptoms, which often is accompanied by potential risks to the consumers, including toxicity, therapeutic failure and drug-drug as well as drug-food interactions. The practice of self-medication has exponentially risen during the Covid-19 pandemic due to fear of visiting healthcare setups and subsequently contracting infections. Aim: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of self-medication in adults and pediatric patients during Covid-19. settings and Design: A cross-sectional community-based survey study was conducted among 556 participants, including pediatric and adult populations, for a period of 6 months, through an online platform. Methods and Material: The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which included informed consent, questions on patient demographics and self-medication practices, and plausible reasons for it. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 22.0, and R environment ver.3.2.2 software. Results: Out of 556 participants the prevalence of self-medicating with paracetamol was considered to be high both in adults and paediatrics which was found to be 72.6% (319) and 66.6% (117) respectively. During Covid-19 symptoms, it was reported that Azithromycin consumption was found to be more than paracetamol. It also showed that 62.9% (439) were self-medicating before the Covid-19 pandemic and 20.5 % (439) were not aware of the risks associated with self-medication. The major source of self-medication was found to be Google (46.5%) followed by using old prescriptions (121.5%) and using family or friends’ prescriptions (10.9%). Conclusions: The study showed a conclusive rise in self-medication practices during the Covid pandemic among the SM-naïve population. Keywords: Self-medication, Prevalence, Prescription, Covid-19

Pharmacists’ clinical decision making when responding to a self-medication request for a cough in a developing country

BackgroundSome studies have reported that community pharmacies in developing countries, including Indonesia, provided sub-optimal advice when handling patient's self-medication request for cough. The reasons behind such advice, therefore, need to be investigated. ObjectivesTo describe Indonesian pharmacists’ clinical decision making when handling self-medication cases for a cough. MethodsAn open-ended questionnaire consisting of two cough clinical vignettes (case 1: cough due to asthma worsening and case 2: cough as a symptom of common cold) were developed. Pharmacists were interviewed to provide recommendations and reasons for their recommendations for these scenarios. Content analysis was used to analyse participants’ statements for the two scenarios. The number of participants who provided appropriate recommendations and reasons were then counted. ResultsA total of 245 community pharmacists participated in the study. In the case of cough due to asthma worsening, recommending a product because the product was indicated to help with the symptoms was the most common recommendation and stated reason (40%). Appropriate recommendation (direct medical referral) with appropriate reasoning (indicating warning symptoms and/or making a symptom diagnosis) was provided by 25% participants. In the case of cough as a symptom of common cold, recommending products to help with the symptoms was also the most common recommendation and stated reason (53%). Appropriate recommendations (recommending product) with appropriate reasoning (providing product to treat the symptoms and/or indicating no warning symptoms and/or making a symptom diagnosis) was provided by 81% participants. ConclusionThe ability of Indonesian community pharmacists to provide appropriate recommendations for cough self-medication requests is dependent on whether triage is required. The inability of most community pharmacists to differentiate between major and minor conditions may lead to serious health implications for patients and therefore educational interventions should be undertaken to improve community pharmacists’ differential diagnostic skills for triage.

KETEPATAN REKOMENDASI PADA KASUS VIGNETTE SWAMEDIKASI SAKIT KEPALA OLEH APOTEKER DI APOTEK

Headache is a symptom which people often self-medicate and community pharmacies are often places where self-medicating patients with headache obtain the medicines. Therefore, community pharmacists played an important role in providing appropriate advice for these patients. A cross-sectional study design was used. A questionnaire consisting of (1) pharmacy and pharmacists characteristics, and (2) two vignette cases of headache (tension headache and migraine due to an oral contraceptive) was developed. Data was collected using a structured interview with community pharmacists in an East Javan district. Data was analysed using content analysis. Appropriate recommendation was determined based on the literature and expert panel opinion. The total population was 81 community pharmacists. Of these, 47 agreed to participate. Of 47 participating pharmacists, 36 (77%) and 23 (49%) pharmacists provided appropriate advice in the case of tension headache and migraine due to the use of an oral contraceptive respectively. Appropriate recommendation provided by pharmacists varied according to the cases. Optimization of pharmacists’ recommendation in a case of headache requiring medical referral is needed.

SELF-MEDICATION ASSOCIATED WITH TOOTHACHE: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction: Self-medication consists of selecting and using medication without a prescription or guidance from a healthcare professional. This practice has been widely reported worldwide, which has contributed to a series of adverse health outcomes, such as delayed diagnosis, worsening of clinical conditions, drug interactions, intoxication, and adverse reactions, which tend to compromise patient safety. Objective: To analyze the prevalence of self-medication associated with toothache, the main factors associated with self-medication in dental patients, as well as outline the profile of medications used by these individuals, the preferred route of administration, and the main sources of medication. Methodology: A systematic review was developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Relevant articles published in the last ten years, without limitations of language were searched using the following descriptors/MeSHterms and keywords: "self-medication" and (toothache or "dental pain") not Child. Results: The initial search returned 57 manuscripts. Fourteen papers, all cross-sectional studies, were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-medication for toothache ranged from 6.5% to 100.0%. Cultural and economic factors, barriers to access, the high cost of dental treatments, lack of time and money, and the perception that dental problems are not a serious problem are among the main factors associated with the practice. Regarding the drugs used, the most used classes were paracetamol, especially anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly ibuprofen, and analgesics administered orally.

A Prospective Real-World Study of Bacillus clausii Evaluating Use, Treatment Habits and Patient Satisfaction in Italian Community Pharmacies: The PEGASO Study.

Ailments such as diarrhoea and antibiotic-associated gut symptoms are generally self-managed using probiotics. Real-world data on reasons behind self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) products and patient-reported outcomes can be investigated strategically by the pharmacists. This study evaluates the use of Bacillus clausii (Enterogermina®) at the Italian community pharmacies among self-medicating patients, their treatment habits and perceived benefits. This is a multicentre, prospective, non-interventional study which included two visits [at screening (T0) and end of the study (T1) when symptoms had subsided, ≤ 30days from T0]. Patients who were already inclined to buy B. clausii were enrolled and instructed to complete a questionnaire at T0 and T1. The primary objective was to evaluate the reasons for taking B. clausii. Secondary objectives assessed treatment duration, perceived effectiveness, quality of life (QoL), treatment satisfaction and safety outcomes. Overall, 268 patients were enrolled; 99.6% of them were evaluated at T0 and 97.4% at T1, and safety was evaluated in 97.8% who had ≥ 1 dose of B. clausii. At T0, mean age was 50.7 years and majority were females (62.2%). In the interview, main reason stated for using B. clausii at T0 was diarrhoea (56.93%), followed by other gastrointestinal symptoms. Treatment duration was shorter in those with diarrhoea or abdominal pain versus those with constipation or abdominal tension. More than 90% perceived their symptoms to have improved or improved very much. Overall QoL improved in all the aspects measured. Treatment satisfaction was reported by nearly 90% of patients as satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied. No adverse events were reported. This is the first pharmacy-based study in Italy that evaluated the real-world usage of an OTC probiotic containing B. clausii among self-medicating adults. Diarrhoea was the most common reason for use, with high-level of perceived effectiveness and patient satisfaction with B. clausii.

WTP8.7 Patient Reported Outcome Measures- Assessment of Breast Day Case Surgery treatment pathway

Abstract Day Case Surgery is an advancement in patient care and efficiency for hospitals. The success of day surgery is dependent on the patient’s experience of the pathway. The usefulness of PROMS is dependant on the questions asked and the “comments box” that encourages any other patient related incidences to be conveyed. Method All patients undergoing day case breast surgery were assessed using PROMs to validate the surgical pathway with respect to pain control since patients were requested in advance to purchase simple over the counter analgesia to take according to their own requirements and hospital prescribed discharge analgesia was discontinued. Results All patients felt that their pain control immediately after surgery was good, no patients recorded that the pain kept them awake, all felt the pain was well controlled having left hospital and none felt they needed stronger pain relief. Importantly none sought medical help for pain from another source and all rated the service as good. One patient stayed overnight for medical reasons and stated that this was a necessary and acceptable outcome in the circumstances. Three patients experienced sore throats and two had post -operative nausea / vomiting and dizziness. Despite these experiences all stated they liked having day case surgery. Discussion PROMS allows patient feedback of the treatment pathway and enables reflection and further improvement to be achieved. The results support discontinuation of medication on discharge and patient self-medication with over the counter analgesia is acceptable and does not result in seeking pain relief from other sources.

Prevalence of Self-Medication in Dental Patients: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia

The present study focuses on the prevalence of self-medication in dental patients’ pre-post dental consultation- a case study of Saudi Arabia. It was a descriptive study based on a structured close-ended interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic characteristics and also encompassed reasons, sources, duration, types of medicines used for self-medication, and reasons for hesitancy towards dental consultation. Respondents were selected using a non-probability convenience sampling technique, the data were analyzed using SPSS ver 22. Outcomes of the present study envisage that self-medication is quite prevalent among dental patients using both orthodox and traditional drugs. Results of Bivariate analysis revealed that the majority of patients were not cognizant of the specific dental ailments as revealed in pre-post diagnosis. The multivariate technique of decision trees exhibited that two groups of patients need to be focused on regarding self-medication – those who are less than 20 years of age and Non-Saudi Arabic speakers who are more than 20 years of age. The results of the present study can form the basis for framing future policies for easy accessibility of dental consultation to the populace which may result in containment of self-medication within the Saudian context.

Отношение медицинских работников к телемедицинским технологиям.

Introduction. Currently, telemedicine is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the healthcare system. The aim is to study the awareness and attitude of doctors to telemedicine technologies in the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. 138 doctors of different specialties (64 cardiologists, 24 neurologists and 50 therapists) took part in the survey using the original questionnaire «Awareness and attitude of doctors to telemedicine technologies». Results. Most physicians in therapeutic specialties are aware of telemedicine consultations. They are ready to devote 20% of their working time to telemedicine consultations. They want to learn new technologies. Cardiologists, unlike neurologists, therapists, think better that the work of a doctor will become more efficient through telemedicine. They are convinced that telemedicine consultations can reduce anxiety, self-medication and complications in patients. Doctors know little and rarely use remote telemonitoring. Most cardiologists and therapists are ready to focus on telemetry and have time to working for this method. Neurologists are more wary of the introduction of telemetry: about 50% see the benefits of this monitoring method. Most cardiologists believe that remote telemetry increases the availability of medical care, reduces economic costs and reduces the number of unmotivated visits to the doctor. Conclusion. Based on this study, it can be concluded that a broad information campaign is currently needed. It should be aimed at solving information, organizational, medical and ethical problems to increase the value of telemedicine technologies and trust in them.

Evaluation of the factors that contribute to patient self-medication in outpatient department (OPD) at Kabwohe Health Centre IV

Self-medication is a common practice in both rural and urban settings, in older people with chronic illness and young people. Self-medication leads to irrational drug use, drug resistance, and severe disease development. This study seeks to determine the factors that contributes to self-medication among patients at out-patient department at Kabwohe Health Center (HC) IV. It was a cross sectional study using quantitative method of data collection. It was conducted at Kabwohe HC IV located in Sheema District in southwestern Uganda. The study involved patients attending Outpatient Department (OPD) at Kabwohe HC IV. Simple random sampling was used to recruit patients into the study. Microsoft excel was used to analyze data and it was presented in form of frequency distribution tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study involved 89 participants attending OPD at Kabwohe HC IV, majority of the participants (86.5%) were less than 35 years and females were slightly more than males. The reasons for self-medication include; non-availability of doctors at the health facility as the main factor (95%), knowledge of diagnosis (84%), lack of time (75%) and financial problems (74%). Self-medication remains a challenge at Kabwohe HC IV. Patients should be educated on the advantages and disadvantages of self-medication. The DHO should strengthen policy implementation on the use of drugs to reduce the burden of irrational drug use that increases the cost of purchasing the wasted drugs, and increasing drug resistance. DHO, should also conduct routine clinical audit on patient care to identify missed opportunity in care and develop action plan to address challenges in service delivery. Keywords: Health Centre, Patients, Kabwohe, Outpatient Department and Self-Medication

Implementation of a pragmatic emergency department patients’ own medications (POM) procedure to improve medication safety: An interrupted time series

BackgroundPatients’ Own Medications (POMs) are useful to inform clinical decision-making, best possible medication history documentation, and ensure timely medication administration. A procedure was developed for managing POMs specifically in the emergency department (ED) and short stay unit. This study evaluated the impact of this procedure on process and patient safety outcomes. MethodsAn interrupted time-series was undertaken in a metropolitan ED/short stay unit between November 2017 and September 2021. Pre-implementation and during each of four post-implementation time-periods, data were collected at unannounced times on approximately 100 patients taking medications prior to presentation. Endpoints included proportion of patients with POMs stored in green POMs bags, in standardised locations, and proportion who self-medicated without nurses knowing. ResultsFollowing procedure implementation, POMs were stored in standardised locations for 45.9 % of patients. Proportion of patients with POMs stored in green bags increased from 6.9 % to 48.2 % (difference 41.3 %, p < 0.001). Patient self-administration without nurses’ knowledge declined from 10.3 % to 2.3 % (difference 8.0 %, p = 0.015). POMs were infrequently left in ED/short stay unit after discharge. ConclusionsThe procedure has standardised POMs storage, but room for further improvement remains. Although POMs were not locked away and were readily available to clinicians, patient self-medication without nurses’ knowledge declined.

Analysis of pediatric self-medication in patients treated at a highcomplexity hospital

Analysis of pediatric self-medication in patients treated at a highcomplexity hospital

Patient Satisfaction Level with Self-Medication Services by Pharmacists During The CoviD-19 Pandemic in Rembang District, Central Java, indonesia

Self-medication is a person's effort to treat symptoms of illness or disease that arise independently without consulting and taking treatment to a doctor. The purpose of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with self-medication services by pharmacists at pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Rembang District. This research is a quantitative descriptive observational research with a cross sectional research design. To find out satisfaction with service quality, we used the service quality approach with SERVQUAL (service quality) questionnaire. SERVQUAL measures the difference between customer expectations and perceived service quality based on five dimensions of service quality, namely reliability, responsivenes, empathy, assurance, and tangible evidence. The research instrument used was a validated questionnaire and the research respondents were self-medicated patients who met the inclusion criteria of the study. Data collection was carried out in March-May 2021 in Rembang District, Central Java. Obtained 100 patients who have met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the mean gap score was (-0.15 ± 0.086). The level of dissatisfaction in the five service dimensions were follows assurance (-0.27), reliability (-0.22), tangible (-0.12), empathy (-0.08), and responsiveness (-0.04) with a statistically siginificant difference value is service reliability (0.019) and assurance (0.021) &lt;0.05. The patient satisfaction level with self-medication services by pharmacists at the Rembang District pharmacy as a whole was 96%. The conclusion in this study was the level of patient satisfaction was satisfying.

Antimicrobial resistance in odontogenic infections: A protocol for systematic review

It is estimated that up to 90% of head and neck infections have an odontogenic origin, which are considered among the most common in the oral cavity and maxillofacial region. Bacterial resistance has been 1 of the main problems related to the treatment of this type of infection in recent years. The frequency of this resistance is increasing, which is mainly due to patient self-medication and the mutations that bacteria present. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the antimicrobial resistance of antibiotics commonly administered for the treatment of odontogenic infections. To carry out the study, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were reviewed using the keywords "odontogenic infection", "pharmacological treatment", and "microbial resistance. Studies whose main objective was the pharmacological treatment of odontogenic infections were selected. Exclusions were review-type studies, systematic reviews, or in vitro or animal model studies. For the analysis of risk of bias, the Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies of the Joanna Briggs Institute was used. The search and analysis of the studies was carried out by 2 researchers independently. A total of 13 studies were included in this review. The mean age was 39.6 years; the location of the infection in the study subjects was in the submandibular and vestibular spaces; there were periodontal, periapical, and dentoalveolar lesions; the main microorganisms identified were Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Prevotella, Peptostreptococcus, Clostridium, and Klebsiella; and finally, the main microorganisms identified for bacterial resistance were penicillin, clindamycin and amoxicillin. The health professional is obliged to update their knowledge to avoid such antibiotic resistance and thus provide better patient care.

Evaluation of the Rationality of OTC (Over The Counter) Drug Self-Medication in Patients in Pasaman Barat District Pharmacy

Self-medication is simply a person's attempt to treat symptoms of illness or disease without consulting a doctor first. Self-medication also means treating all complaints about oneself with medicines purchased directly at pharmacies or drug stores on their initiative without a doctor's prescription. OTC (Over The Counter) drugs are medicines that can be purchased without a prescription, namely over-the-counter and limited over-the-counter drugs, including fever-reducing drugs, pain relievers and inflammation relievers, cough medicines, cold medicines, ulcer medicines, diarrhea medicines, and skin medicines. The use of drugs in self-medication is carried out correctly to ensure the accuracy, rationality, and safety of drug use in self-medication. This study aimed to determine the demographic data characteristics of self-medication patients, the rationality of self-medication, and the influence of patient demographic data characteristics on rationality in OTC (Over Counter) drug self-medication patients. This study used a cross-sectional method. As many as 100 respondents aged 18-60 who self-medicated OTC (Over Counter) drugs at the West Pasaman District Pharmacy were involved in this study. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Statistical Product And Servicer Solution (SPSS) 23. The results of this study showed that the majority of respondents who self-medicated OTC (Over Counter) drugs were 58% women, 63% of the age group 18-60 years, the last education group was low ( SD, SMP, SMA) by 77% and the non-PNS/non-private employee group is 82%. Respondents who used self-medication rationally were quite large, namely 86%. The factor that influences self-medication is age. While gender, education, and occupation do not affect self-medication

Initiation and Implementation of Infusional Chemotherapy As a Base Regimen for Increased Risk Lymphoid Malignancy in an Inner-City Academic Institution

Our institution is a 695-bed facility that serves an inner-city population and the surrounding area which together are largely urban and have withstood longstanding obstacles to care including food insecurity, absence of reliable transportation, lack of insurance coverage, and poor health literacy. Such barriers have historically served to limit for many patients, routine outpatient visits, weekly, or even nadir lab work as well as outpatient-based cancer therapy. Institutional barriers include limited nursing resources. Given these challenges, with a change in divisional leadership and the establishment of a new fellowship in hematology/oncology, a simplified and streamlined approach to managing and treating high-risk lymphoid malignancies was planned. Infusional chemotherapy has been shown to have activity in a variety of lymphoid cancers (Wilson, 1993; Dobashi, 1998; Cassaday, 2018). To address inconsistent patient follow-up, a program was instituted, utilizing a dedicated Registered Nurse coordinator making routine proactive phone and electronic check-ins to ascertain patient status; a distinct, direct phone number to call to report symptoms; electronic medical record access for communication; dedicated physician/physician assistant availability; and treatment planning assigned to a single, designated faculty physician with fellow support. Additionally, planned treatment needed inpatient administration, no routine dose alterations, no requirement for patient self-medication, and scheduled single-dose growth factor support. With this in mind, we have utilized an infusional chemotherapy regimen of Hydroxydaunorubicin (Adriamycin) (10 mg/m2), OncovinR (Vincristine) (0.4 mg/m2), and Etoposide (50 mg/m2) by continuous infusion daily for 4 days with Prednisolone 125 mg IV daily for 5 days, and Cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 IV on day 5. Peg-filgastrim 6 mg subcutaneously was given following completion of therapy. Cycles were repeated every 21 days. Additions of Rituximab and TKI varied by individual malignancy type. Pt characteristics: 7 males/6 females, median age-45 (range: 19-75), median ECOG status-2, B symptoms-8, LDH elevation-9, no prior therapy-7, disease types: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma-4, large cell unclassifiable, intermediate between DLBCL and classical Hodgkin-2, plasmablastic lymphoma-1, primary effusion lymphoma-1, Burkitt lymphoma-1, lymphoblastic lymphoma-1, acute lymphoblastic leukemia-3.Median number of cycles received = 6 (range: 1-8).Six have had complete responses and four partial responses. One patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia has undergone transplant and is free of leukemia at 19.9+ months. The median duration of complete response has not been reached at > 6 months. Median survival is ongoing at 11.5+ months. There have been no treatment-related deaths. Three patients required dose modification of Vincristine related to transient paresthesia. There have been no hospitalizations related to toxicity. This systematic approach including an infusional chemotherapy regimen may produce positive downstream effects such as consistency with nursing, a deeper understanding of side effects by nurses and mid-level providers and a predictable patient flow to improve the patient experience and ultimately outcomes. Given the resource constraints experienced at our institution, and potentially other urban teaching institutions, this approach may prove helpful in terms of patient compliance, satisfaction with care, and outcomes.

PRACTICE OF SELF-MEDICATION IN NEPALESE PATIENTS PRESENTING IN ENT OUTPATIENT OF KIST MEDICAL COLLEGE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Background: Self-medication is a practice of using medications without prescription. It is a common practice in developing world like Nepal. The study aimed to assess the practice of self-medication in patients attending ENT and Head and Neck outpatient department of KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019- August 2021. Total 220 patients attending the ENT outpatients during the study period were enrolled in the study. Informed consent was taken from the patients. The semi structured pretested questionnaire was used to interview the patients by the trained medical doctor. Statistical analysis of data was performed by using Excel and SPSS. Results: Among the 220(8.7%) respondents’ 52.7 percent were males and 47.3 percent were females. Adults with age ranging between 30 to 44 were found to practice self-medication (34.5%). Most of them were house wives (25.9%). The common reasons for practice of self-medication were mild illness (64.1%), and the main source of self-medication was chemist (73.6%). Conclusions: Self-medication is common practice in Nepal however our study indicates a decreasing trend of self-medication, especially in urban areas where access to health service is easy. The findings of the study indicate antibiotics are used more frequently as self-medication even in urban settings. This indicates misuse of access to medicines and can lead to rise of antibiotics resistant. So, we think national guideline should be prepared to make self-medication practice safe and rational.

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding antibiotic self-treatment use among COVID-19 patients.

Background: Self-medication with antibiotics is a common practice across different age groups and different cultures that can cause problems such as drug resistance, side effects, and rising costs for the healthcare system community. During the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), people with mild symptoms have avoided seeing a doctor, preferring to self-medicate. The impact of self-medication in COVID-19 patients is an important public health issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of, attitudes toward, and performance of self-medication with antibiotics in COVID-19 patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with COVID-19. Participants were selected by random sampling. A survey of knowledge, attitude and practice of taking antibiotics in patients with COVID-19 was conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software.Results: The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics in patients with COVID-19 was 56.1%. Most COVID-19 patients have the overall knowledge, attitude and practice score of self-medication with antibiotics. There was a significant difference between the knowledge and attitudes of educated and uneducated patients (p<0.01). Of the demographic variables, there was no significant difference between sexes in terms of attitude and practice of antibiotic self-medication in COVID-19 patients (p>0.05).Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of antibiotic self-medication in COVID-19 patients, it is recommended to provide the necessary education and practical means of reducing the amount of antibiotic self-medication.

Frequency and characterization of self-medication for dental manifestations in patients attending private clinics in Lima in 2021

The self-medication is the use of drugs without health professionals' prescription that many times, instead of helping, aggravate the patient's health. Dental pain is the main reason for performing this act in the area of odontology. It is important to know if patients self-medicate in order to develop strategies to reduce the misuse of drugs and avoid this practice. Establish the frequency and characterization of self-medication in patients who visit to the three private dental clinics between the months of march to July in the year 2021. Cross-sectional observational study with a sample of 450 patients from three dental clinics in the city of Lima. The assessment tool was a 13-question quiz about the main characteristics of self-medication. The 85,8% of patients use drugs without medical prescription. 41.5% of the patients self-medicated did it with old prescriptions made by the dentist. The age group that more self-medicated was 26-35 years old with 35.5%. The most frequent type of disease was dental pain with 45.6%, The degree of instruction with the highest percentage was complete university superior with 32.9%. The frequency of self-medication of the patients who visited the three dental centers is considerably high.

Self-medication in patients over 18 years of age in health centers in Honduras

Context: Inappropriate self-medication is seen as a global public health concern. Without appropriate professional healthcare guidance, a variety of issues can arise with potentially serious consequences to one’s personal health. Aims: To describe self-medication in outpatients aged 18 years or over who attended public health care centers in Honduras. Methods: A sample of 4573 people was chosen using a cluster sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was applied. Study variables included: sociodemographic factors, frequency and reasons for self-medicating, kind of medicine and sources of acquisition. Results: With a minimum age of 18 years and a maximum age of 94 years, women predominated with 3340 (73.0%), originated from the department of Francisco Morazán with 1186 (25.9%) persons, primary complete in 1042 (22.8%) persons, and with a monthly household income of less than $171.41 in 1462 (32.0%) persons, 3035 (66.4%) people reported knowing what self-medication is, but 2365 (51.7%) of them were unaware of the consequences of self-medication and 2385 (52.2%) people used medications in the last three months without a prescription. Conclusions: The frequency of self-medication in the studied population shows the need to implement national prevention and promotion initiatives in the rational use of medicines, emphasizing the consequences of self-medication, as well as the creation of stricter surveillance and regulation policies in the sale of medicines.

Self-medication in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in northern Peru

This study aimed to identify factors associated with self-medication in patients with COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted using medical records of patients with COVID-19 who self-medicated before admission to a hospital in Piura, Peru. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution family, log link function, and robust variance. Out of 301 patients, 165 (54.8%) self-medicated before hospital admission, being more frequent self-medication with ivermectin (85.5%) and azithromycin (71.5%). The frequency of self-medication in those aged between 30-59 years was 2.53-fold higher than in those between 18-29 years. Male patients, dyslipidemia, smoking, and hepatic steatosis were associated with self-medication. Clinical characteristics associated with self-medication were fever, cough, headache, anosmia, dysgeusia, nausea/vomiting, and gastroesophageal reflux. A high frequency of self-medication before hospital admission was observed in Peruvian patients with COVID-19, mainly of drugs without proven efficacy.