Análise dos riscos da automedicação em pacientes pediátricos: revisão de literatura

Abstract

Children's self-medication, by parents or guardians, despite seeming harmless, is a dangerous practice depending on the medicine used and the illness the children have. Safe and effective medication prescription requires from the healthcare professional technical-scientific and health knowledge, contraindications, appropriate dosage, duration of treatment, possible drug/food interactions and incompatibility between medications administered simultaneously, as well as the appearance of allergic reactions, side effects and Adverse reactions. The present work aimed to address the practice of self-medication by parents/guardians in children. This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study, based on a literature review, which involved publications indexed in the virtual library of Brazilian scientific journals such as Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), a bibliographic repository of scientific and technical production in Health Sciences published in Latin America and the Caribbean (LILACS), and the Web of Science and National Library of Medicine (Pub Med/Medline). The therapeutic class most used in self-medication in children was prescription-free (MIPs), especially analgesics and anti-inflammatory, although it may include other therapeutic classes. Among the conditioning factors for the practice were cited culture of self-medication, unavailability of medical and hospital health care, the media, the appeal of the pharmaceutical industry, limitation of prescriptive and purchasing power, despair and anguish triggered by symptoms or the possibility of if a disease is acquired, as well as the worsening of the clinical condition, and the lack of educational programs on the often-irreparable effects of self-medication. As a conclusion and trying to contribute to the awareness of the population, especially the less privileged, show the importance of Pharmaceutical Assistance regarding the rational and safe use of medicines, with these professionals being in numerous establishments, hoping to meet the demands of the population and contribute to the reduction of self-medication. In this context, the importance of critically educating all health professionals stands out, so that they become multipliers of information regarding the rational use of drugs, and curb the practice of self-medication.