CONSEQUENCES OF THE INDISCRIMINATE USE OF MEDICINES AS A PREVENTION OF COVID-19: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

In early December 2019, the first cases of pneumonia of unknown origin were reported in the city of Wuhan, China. Through studies, it was concluded that this was a new coronavirus that was later called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2. The objective was to analyze scientific publications on the indiscriminate use of drugs as prevention of covid-19. This is an integrative review, carried out from April to November 2021. For data collection, the Virtual Health Library – VHL was used, in the following databases: Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), with the following descriptors: Coronavirus, SARS-cov-2, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, 2019-ncov. The studies were grouped into two categories, according to their similarity: Challenges and measures adopted in coping with covid-19 and Pharmacological interventions and their adverse effects. In conclusion, scientific evidence demonstrates that the use of some medications are ineffective in the treatment of patients hospitalized with covid-19 and that the indiscriminate use of such medications results in the occurrence of adverse events, thus prolonging the hospital stay of infected patients, the that generates costs and burden on health systems.