Use of medicines and other products for therapeutic purposes among children in Brazil

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of the use of medicines and other products for therapeutic purposes in the Brazilian pediatric population and test whether demographic, socioeconomic and health factors are associated with use.METHODS A cross-sectional population-based study (National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines – PNAUM), including 7,528 children aged 12 or younger, living in urban areas in Brazil. Medicine use to treat chronic or acute diseases was reported by the primary caregiver present at the household interview. Associations between independent variables and medicine use were investigated by Poisson regression.RESULTS The overall prevalence of medicine use was 30.7% (95%CI 28.3–33.1). The prevalence of medicine use for chronic diseases was 5.6% (95%CI 4.7–6.7) and for acute conditions, 27.1% (95%CI 24.8–29.4). The factors significantly associated with overall use were five years old or under, living in the Northeast region, having health insurance and using health services in the last 12 months (emergency visits and hospitalizations). The following were associated with drug use for chronic diseases: age ≥ 2 years, Southeast and South regions, and use of health services. For drug use in treating acute conditions, the following associated factors were identified: ≤ 5 years, North, Northeast or Midwest regions, health insurance, and one or more emergency visits. The most commonly used drugs among children under two years of age were paracetamol, ascorbic acid, and dipyrone; for children aged two years or over they were dipyrone, paracetamol, and amoxicillin.CONCLUSIONS The use of medicine by children is considerable, especially in treating acute medical conditions. Children using drugs for chronic diseases have a different demographic profile from those using drugs for acute conditions in relation to gender, age, and geographic region.

Uso De Medicamentos Em Crianças De Zero a Cinco Anos De Idade Residentes No Município De Tubarão, Santa Catarina

“…The analysis of caregivers’ profile showed that characteristics such as schooling, income and marital status, besides health insurance coverage, did not influence the use of drugs, as described in another study 21 . Another study found a positive association between these variables, showing that drug use is higher in children with a health plan 22 . However, cultural and socioeconomic differences between the population of this study and that of international research should be taken into account, as well as between the health systems of each country, for these factors impact on the access to and use of medicines.…”

Cuidados farmacêuticos na adesão da terapia medicamentosa oral em pacientes onco-pediátricos

“…Com isto, a garantia de eficácia e segurança dessas drogas para a população pediátrica é complexa e imensurável, aumentando o risco de eventos adversos e toxicidade para essa população. Geralmente, a indústria farmacêutica não oferece fórmulas e formas farmacêuticas variadas e garantia de estudos de eficácia e segurança para o cuidado terapêutico desse subgrupo populacional (Pizzol et al, 2016).…”

Availability of emergency contraception in large Brazilian municipalities: a guaranteed right?

“…In Brazil, Levonorgestrel is the medicine dispensed free of charge by the Unified Health System (SUS) for EC ( Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2012 ). Financing and procurement are carried out by the Ministry of Health under the Family Planning and Women’s Health Policies ( Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2004 ; Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2016 ; Pizzol et al, 2016 ). It is also possible to be acquired through private pharmacies, which is the population’s main access route, since in practice it is accessed without a prescription ( Figueiredo, 2016 ).…”