Prevalence and reasons for self-medication for prevention of COVID-19 among the adult population in Kermanshah-Iran.
Maryam Janatolmakan, Armin Naghipour, Alireza Khatony
PMID 36813745WHAT IT FOUND
69.4% of 147 surveyed adults in Kermanshah, Iran, self-medicated for COVID-19, mostly with vitamins, antibiotics or corticosteroids, to boost immunity or prevent illness.
Nurses can ask about non-prescribed drugs and counsel on risks.
Key findings
01102 of 147 adults (69.4%) reported self-medication for prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
02The most common medications were vitamin C (87, 59.1%), vitamin D (87, 59.1%), B complex (57, 38.8%), azithromycin (39, 26.5%), penicillin (22, 14.9%) and dexamethasone and betamethasone (15.6%, 23).
03The most common reasons were boosting the immune system (69, 67.6%), preventing COVID-19 (49, 48.0%) and preventing influenza (49, 48.0%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The data were self-reported, so answers may not be accurate. The design was cross-sectional, so it cannot show cause and effect. Participants were selected by convenience sampling from parks, pharmacies and shopping centres, not randomly. The questionnaire was made for the study rather than being a standard measure.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was funded by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that self-medication with vitamins, antibiotics or corticosteroids is safe or helpful. It was a cross-sectional self-report survey, and the 93.1% who said they had no complications did not have outcomes measured over time.