Background To date, there is no effective treatment for COVID-19, which is a pandemic disease, caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. In Togo, where four in five people practice self-medication, the absence of a cure for COVID-19 and the constant progression of the disease requires an assessment of self-medication patterns in the context of the pandemic. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-medication to prevent COVID-19 and its associated factors in Lomé, Togo. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lomé, the capital city of Togo, from April 23rd to May 8th, 2020, with a sample of participants from five sectors: the healthcare, air transport, police, road transport and informal sectors. The participants were invited to provide information about their self-medication practices to prevent COVID-19 in the 2 weeks preceding the survey. Results A total of 955 participants (71.6% men) with a median age of 36 (IQR 32–43) were included. Approximately 22.1% were in the air transport sector, 20.5% were in the police sector, and 38.7% were in the health sector. The overall prevalence of self-medication to prevent COVID-19 was 34.2% (95% CI: 31.2–37.3%). The most commonly used products were vitamin C (27.6%) and traditional medicine (10.2%). Only 2.0% of participants reported using chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine. Female sex (aOR=1.90; p< 0.001), work in the health sector (aOR=1.89; p= 0.001), secondary education level (aOR= 2.28; p= 0.043) and university education level (aOR= 5.11; p< 0.001) were associated with self-medication. Conclusion One-third of the individuals in high-risk populations in Lomé practiced self-medication. Intensifying awareness campaigns is crucial to fight misinformation about alleged COVID-19 prevention products on social media.

Background: To date, there is no effective treatment for Covid-19 which is a pandemic due to a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. In Togo, where four in five people practice self-medication, the absence of a cure for Covid-19 and its constant progression requires an assessment of self-medication patterns in the context of the pandemic. This study aimed at estimating the prevalence of self-medication to prevent Covid-19 and its associated factors in Lomé, Togo. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lomé, capital city of Togo, from April 23rd to May 8th, 2020 in a sample of participants from five sectors: healthcare, air transport, police, road transport and informal. Participants were invited to give information about their self-medication practices to prevent Covid-19 within the two weeks preceding the survey. Results: A total of 955 participants (71.6% of men) with a median age of 36 (IQR 32–43) were included. Around 22.1% were in the air transport sector, 20.5% in police, and 38.7% in the health sector. The overall prevalence of self-medication to prevent Covid-19 was 34.2% (95CI%: 31.2-37.3%). Most commonly used products were vitamin C (27.6%) and traditional medicine (10.2%). Only 2.0% of participants reported using Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine. Female sex (aOR=1.90; p<0.001), working in the health sector (aOR=1.89; p= 0.001), secondary education level (aOR= 2.28; p= 0.043) and university education level (aOR= 5.11; p<0.001) were associated with self-medication. Conclusion: One third of high-risk populations in Lomé have practiced self-medication. Intensifying awareness campaigns is crucial to fight misinformation about alleged Covid-19 prevention products on social media.

Background Assessing hospital mortality and its predictors is important as some of these can be prevented through appropriate interventions. Few studies have reported hospital mortality data among older adults in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to assess the mortality and associated factors among hospitalized older adults in Togo. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study from February 2018 to September 2019 among patients ≥50 years admitted in medical and surgical services of six hospitals in Togo. Data were recorded during hospitalization and through telephone follow-up survey within 90 days after admission. The main outcome was all-cause mortality at 3 months. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analyses were performed to assess predictors of mortality. Results The median age of the 650 older adults included in the study period was 61 years, IQR: [55–70] and at least one comorbidity was identified in 59.7% of them. The all-cause mortality rate of 17.2% (95%CI: 14.4–20.4) and the majority of death (93.7%) occurred in hospital. Overall survival rate was 85.5 and 82.8% after 30 and 90 days of follow-up, respectively. Factors associated with 3-month mortality were the hospital level in the health pyramid, hospitalization service, length of stay, functional impairment, depression and malignant diseases. Conclusion Togolese health system needs to adjust its response to an aging population in order to provide the most effective care.

Background: To date, there is no effective treatment for Covid-19 which is a pandemic due to a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. In Togo where four people in five practice self-medication, the absence of a cure for Covid-19 and its constant progression requires an assessment of self-medication patterns in the context of the pandemic. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-medication to prevent Covid-19 and its associated factors in Lomé, Togo. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lomé, capital city of Togo, from April 23rd to May 8th, 2020 in a random sample of participants from five sectors: healthcare, air transport, police, road transport and informal. Participants were invited to give information about their self-medication practices to prevent Covid-19 within the two weeks preceding the survey. Results: A total of 955 participants (71.6% of men) with a median age of 36 (IQR 32–43) were included. Around 22.1% were in the air transport sector, 20.5% in police, and 38.7% in the health sector. The overall prevalence of self-medication to prevent Covid-19 was 34.2% (95CI%: 31.2-37.3%). Most commonly used products were vitamin C (27.6%) and traditional medicine (10.2%). Only 2.0% of participants reported using Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine. Female sex (aOR=1.90; p<0.001), working in the health sector (aOR=1.89; p= 0.001), secondary education level (aOR= 2.28; p= 0.043) and university education level (aOR= 5.11; p<0.001) were associated with self-medication. Conclusion: Prevalence of self-medication was high in high-risk populations in Lomé. Intensifying awareness campaigns is crucial to fight misinformation about alleged Covid-19 prevention products on social media.

No abstract