Uso de medicamentos por crianças no contexto da pandemia de covid - 19.

Abstract

The COVID­19 pandemic brought direct and indirect effects to the child population. Although SARS­COV­2 infection manifests itself less severely among children and adolescents, the restrictions imposed by the measures adopted to curb the transmission of the virus had the potential to affect the health of this population. In this context, it is important to highlight the use of medication by children, a practice permeated by many challenges. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the use of medicines by children in the context of the COVID­19 pandemic, identifying the factors associated with their use. A quantitative cross­sectional study was carried out with data collection through structured questionnaires answered by the research subjects through the internet (websurvey). The target audience of this research were children aged between 0­12 years old, residing in Brazil, and whose parents and/or caregivers were over 18 years old and had access to the internet. Data collection was carried out using Google Forms, from March to July 2022, with a link posted on social networks (Whatsapp and Instagram). There were 158 respondents and 206 participating children, mostly male. It was observed that 74% of the respondents reported that the child used medication in the last 30 days, the most used being antihistamines, antiallergic and antitussives for the treatment of most diseases and anti­inflammatories, analgesics and antipyretics for the treatment of COVID­19. There was a statistically significant association between medication use and the child's age, with a higher prevalence of use in the 0­3 years age group. It was reported that the use took place with the guidance of a health professional. The use of these drugs, which are mostly over­the­counter, highlights the importance of pharmacists during the pandemic. A minority of children (28.8%) had COVID­19, and the diagnosis was more frequent and statistically associated among those whose parents tested positive (p<0.001). The survey data showed that in our sample the use of medication, especially MIPs, was frequent, and regarding access to health services during the COVID­19 pandemic, there was no significant change, which can be explained by the socioeconomic and educational profile of the participants.