Automedicação em pacientes pediátricos

Abstract

Self-medication consists of administering medication on one's own account or at the encouragement of third parties without medical guidance, with the objective of relieving symptoms and promoting health. The practice of self-medication is still considered the main cause of unintentional intoxication in children. It is known that the inadequate administration of drugs of any pharmacological class can have drastic effects, such as organ failure or even death, in addition to often preventing the early diagnosis of serious illnesses. This study presents a descriptive research, with quantitative analysis, for which an adapted and standardized questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the use of medication in children who attend the Institution Lar Escola da Criança in Maringá-PR. The result showed a predominance of the practice in males (66.70%) and in the age group of 12 to 14 years (54.20%). Regarding self-medication itself, it was observed that the fact of already having the medicine at home (45.80%) was the main reason that encouraged self-medication, in which a greater use of dipyrone was observed (45.80 %) and paracetamol (12.50%) in relation to other medicines to relieve symptoms, with fever (41.70%) and pain (29.20%) being the most frequent. At the end of the study and comparing the results obtained with those already described in the literature, it is possible to infer that the practice of self-medication in children is still widely used, requiring interventions to control it.