Potential drug-drug interactions in patients with Covid-19 in a public hospital in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-7114.2026.51.16956Keywords:
Pharmacoepidemiology, Risk factor, Drug interactions, Medication-related problemsAbstract
Objective: To analyze the potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) of Covid-19 patients in a Brazilian public hospital. Methods: Cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive, and analytical study conducted through the evaluation of medical records between March and November 2020. Drugs were categorized according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. The pDDIs were verified using the "drugs.com" database. Results: 79.7% of patients had pDDIs, totaling 483 possible interactions involving 113 different drugs. Among the pDDIs, 10.5% were classified as severe, 66.5% as moderate, and 23.0% as mild. The most common pDDIs involved anti-infective and cardiovascular drugs. Several factors were correlated with a higher occurrence of pDDI, such as being between 60 and 79 years old, hypertension, concurrent use of 4 to 7 drugs or more than 8 drugs, admission to the ICU, previous use of drugs for the cardiovascular system, prescription of anticoagulants, systemic hormonal preparations such as corticosteroids, and anti-infective agents for systemic use. On the other hand, being between 20 and 39 years old, using three or fewer drugs simultaneously, and staying less time hospitalized were associated with a decrease in the risk of pDDIs. Conclusion: Covid-19 patients have a high prevalence of pDDIs, demonstrating the need to identify and monitor their occurrence in public health institutions in order to increase patient safety.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jean Rodrigo Santos, Amanda Razera, Tuane Bazanella Sampaio, Any de Castro Ruiz Marques, Emerson Carraro
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