The usage of over-the-counter products by private insured patients in Germany - a claims data analysis with focus on complementary medicine

Attitudes, attributions, and usage patterns of primary care patients with regard to over-the-counter drugs-a survey in Germany

Studies show that over-the-counter drugs are widely used by consumers. Moreover, there is a huge selection available and they are prominently featured in advertising. To date, there exist only a few studies that shed light on the attitudes, attributions, and usage patterns of patients with regard to use of over-the-counter drugs. An anonymized explorative waiting room survey was conducted among 900 patients in 60 GP practices in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate. As well as the descriptive analysis, a t test was applied to independent random samples, in order to identify significant differences between two groups. 65% of respondents reported using over-the-counter drugs frequently or occasionally. With regard to effects, risks, and side effects, 54% state that they usually take advice from their GP and/or pharmacist before purchasing or taking over-the-counter preparations. For 56%, the package information leaflet is a frequent source of information about the over-the-counter drugs used. The respondents consider over-the-counter preparations to be particularly suitable for (preventive) treatment of colds, flu symptoms, and pain management. The widespread perception of over-the-counter drugs as simple to use (62%), low-dose (69%), and low-efficacy (73%) products does not always correspond to the actual capabilities and risks of over-the-counter self-medication. Given the easy availability of over-the-counter drugs and their strong presence in advertising, it is important that patients have a realistic idea of the capabilities and risks of over-the-counter products. In addition to the advice provided by pharmacists, the trusting, long-standing support provided by GPs and their ongoing information and advice services play a central role in this. It would be advisable to give more attention to this public health concern and to promote initiatives to make patients more aware of the risks regarding consumption of drugs without medical consultation.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic herb-drug interactions of common over-the-counter pain medications

Pain is one of the most common reasons for seeking medical intervention, and self-medication with over-the-counter medications and/or traditional herbal remedies has become increasingly popular. In this review, original articles on understanding possible herb-drug interactions between traditional herbs and four major pain medications-acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen-are compiled and analyzed. In terms of analytical methods, high-performance liquid chromatography using an isocratic eluent system coupled to biological sample clean-up is the most common, while a wide variety of detectors have been observed, including a photodiode array, variable wavelength detector, electrochemical detector and tandem mass spectrometer. Both synergistic and anti-synergistic effects were observed for acetaminophen and aspirin, while only synergistic effects have been found for naproxen. Currently, no interactions have been reported for ibuprofen.

Evaluation of parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Self-medication refers to taking medicine without consultation with a doctor or dentist, and it is an important health issue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no data about parents' SM practices for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Turkey.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the pediatric dental clinic at Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown ended. A total of 389 parents who agreed to participate in the study completed the questionnaire from July 1 to October 1. A questionnaire with 18 items was designed to collect information on the parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding when, why, and how to use drugs and on their practices on medicating their children. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (chi-square test).

RESULTS

The majority of parents (n = 273; 70.2%) practiced self-medication for their children's dental problems. Self-medication with a previously prescribed medications was usually preferred by parents (n = 179; 62.2%). Analgesics (98%) were the most commonly used medicines by parents in their self-medication for their children's dental problems.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of self-medication practices for children's dental problems is high in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, new healthcare services, such as teledentistry, may be useful to overcome problems related to the self-medication of children during times when the ability to reach healthcare providers is limited, such as during pandemics.