[ID 59494] AUTOMEDICAÇÃO E INTERAÇÕES MEDICAMENTOSAS POTENCIAIS EM UMA FARMÁCIA COMUNITÁRIA EM PETROLINA, PERNAMBUCO

SELF-MEDICATION AND POTENTIAL DRUG INTERACTIONS AT A COMMUNITY PHARMACY IN PETROLINA, PERNAMBUCO

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of self-medication and potential drug interactions (PDI) in a community pharmacy in the city of Petrolina, Pernambuco. Methodology: Cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative study. Data collection was carried out from December/2019 to March/2020 and 100 participants were recruited. Results: 99% of the drugs purchased were for own use (p = 0.001), 98% did not claim to have forgotten or lost the prescription at the time of purchase (p = 0.001), 56% did not seek advice from the pharmacist (p = 0.31), 99% did not receive unsolicited advice (p = 0.001), 57% advised themselves with third parties (p = 0.1), 80% were not based on old recipes (p = 0.001), 51% would use the medications for more than five days (p = 0.001) and 92% did not follow the instructions on the package insert (p = 0.001). In addition, 56% of participants had at least one PDI. In total, 153 PDI were identified, 84.2% were moderate severity and the most prevalent was between prescribed losartan and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Pearson's linear coefficient was calculated between the number of PDI and the number of total drugs used (r = + 0.68, p <0.001), by self-medication (r = + 0.63, p <0.001) and prescribed (r = +0.77, p <0.001). Conclusion: In this perspective, the present study demonstrated the need to plan educational health campaigns in order to lead the promotion of the rational use of medicines, as well as the greater role of the pharmacist intervening in the self-medication process, minimizing their negative outcomes.