Influência da pandemia de Covid-19 no consumo de medicamentos psicotrópicos em um município de pequeno porte no Rio Grande do Norte.

Abstract

The infection caused by the Sars-COV-2 virus quickly spread around the world, and in March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the situation as a pandemic. To reduce the transmissibility of cases, it was necessary to change the work and leisure routines of the population, causing social distancing, which triggered impacts on mental health. Therefore, the present research aimed to identify the consumption of psychotropics during the COVID-19 pandemic in the use of psychotropics in a small municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte. A descriptive ecological study was carried out, whose unit of analysis was composed of psychotropic drugs dispensed in the basic pharmacy of the municipality of Timbaúba dos Batistas/RN, in the years 2019 and 2020. The data collected were the demographic variables of drug users ( sex), data on the drugs dispensed (drug name, concentration/presentation, pharmaceutical form, dose and quantities dispensed), attached to an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft®) that composed the research database and presented in the form of frequency relative and absolute, calculating the difference by the Defined Daily Dose (DDD). Twenty-two drugs were identified, among them, the therapeutic class with decreasing variation were antidepressants, followed by antiepileptics and increasingly antipsychotics. Venlafaxine, levomepromazine, phenobarbital and carbamazepine were the most consumed drugs in the municipalities during the years studied. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in the consumption of the defined daily dose of psychotropic drugs, due to shortages during the pandemic year. This research provides the municipality with a study tool for the development of new behaviors, and it is plausible to offer the population better conditions of care, including by pharmacists, as they are the fundamental professional to obtain good results, as they can develop activities aimed at promoting health education. , explain the effects of drugs, develop strategies for use with people in mental distress, as many drugs exceeded the DDD standardized by the WHO.