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

Abstract

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.

Analysis of sunscreens and antibiotics in groundwater during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Riviera Maya, Mexico

“…Misconceptions about antibiotics contributed to the use of the drugs as a treatment for COVID-19 ( Baracaldo-Santamaría et al, 2022 ; Pew Charitable Trusts, 2021 ). The same misconceptions may explain the concentration profile of antibiotics in the groundwater samples in the early months of the pandemic.…”

Enhancing self-medication practices in the era of infodemic: the role of pharmacovigilance

“…chloroquine), and that to a large extent it was determined by the influence of social networks. 9,10 Regarding risk characterization, I wish to highlight the contribution of Baracaldo-Santamaría et al 11 on the adverse effects of frequently selfmedicated drugs for COVID-19, while the article on how the WHO Uppsala Monitoring Centre rose to the challenge of the global vaccination campaign for COVID-19 is an excellent contribution by Rudolph et al 12 In line with these publications, Eslait-Olaciregui et al 13 present an interesting review on neurological adverse reactions associated with COVID-19 vaccines.…”

Dissemination of a “Fake Miracle Cure” against COVID-19 on Twitter: The Case of Chlorine Dioxide

“…He specializes in traumatology and orthopedics (Conoce al Dr. Manuel Aparicio Alonso n.d.), and has published three peer-reviewed articles demonstrating the effectiveness of CDS for COVID-19 (Aparicio-Alonso et al 2021a, 2021b, 2021c. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide is contested in other scientific works (Baracaldo-Santamaría et al 2022;de los Milagros Farfán-Castillo et al 2022).…”