Observational studyScientific reports2024
Individual use of self-medication and other remedies in COVID-19 outpatients in Western-Pomerania.
Observational study in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Factors Associated With Self-Medication to Mitigate Vaccine Reactions After COVID-19 Vaccination: A Prospective Cohort Study.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Self-Medication as a Global Health Concern: Overview of Practices and Associated Factors-A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Drug stockpiling behavior and its impact on anxiety among the general public in the early stage after the lifting of China's Zero-COVID policy: results from a web-based survey.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We analyzed data from positively tested COVID-19 outpatients to describe self-medication with OTC drugs and use of other remedies against symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We specifically considered their type and frequency, as well as associations with patient characteristics, and reasons for use. Data were collected between May 1, 2020 and February 22, 2021 with two questionnaires in an observational cohort study with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-positive adult outpatients in the district of Western Pomerania in Germany. 523 out of 710 outpatients (74%; 340 women and 183 men) reported using drugs and other remedies to relieve COVID-19-symptoms. Overall, participants reported utilization of 1282 finished dosage products or remedies, including 213 different ingredients. In the population of 710 outpatients, utilization of ibuprofen (26%), acetaminophen (21%), metamizole (14%), and acetylsalicylic acid (10%) was most commonly reported. Phytopharmaceuticals, herbal and animal products as well as vitamins and minerals were also frequently reported. Among the 523 participants who used drugs and other remedies, most commonly mentioned reasons for use were headache (40%), other kinds of pain (e.g. myalgia; 37%), fever (24%) and cough (16%). Our analysis showed that a majority of the participants tried to alleviate COVID-19-symptoms using drugs and other remedies. Especially analgesic and antipyretic agents, followed by herbal medicines, were used very frequently.Trial registration: German Register for Clinical Studies DRKS00021672, first registration on December 1st, 2020.
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