ASPECTS OF SELF-MEDICATION IN BRAZIL

Introduction The data presented are part of a World Health Organizatio n (WHO) multicenter study of self-medication in Latin America. Brazili an sites included: Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, the city of S. Paulo and outlying locations. The objective was to characterize self-medication practices by analyzing drugs sought by consumers in pharmacies withou t a physician's prescription. Material and Method Drugs were classifie d according to the Anatomic Therapeutic Classification codes, and anal yzed with respect to 1) intrinsic value; 2) recognition as an essentia l drug (by either WHO or Brazil); 3) number of active ingredients; and 4) requirement for prescription. Results Five thousand, three hundred and thirty-two (5,332) different drugs, with 785 distinct active ingr edients were sought. Of these, 49.5% were fixed dose combinations, 53. 0% were of little intrinsic value, 44,1% required a physician 's presc ription, 71.0% were not essential drugs, and 40.0% of requests were ba sed on prior prescriptions from the physician. The drugs most requeste d were analgesics (17.3%), nasal descongestants (7.0%), antirheumatic anti-inflamatory drugs (5.6%), and systemic anti-infective drugs (5.6% ). Conclusions Self-medication in Brazil reflects the needs and habits of the population. It is strongly influenced by physician's-prescribi ng habits and by the inadequate selectivity of the Brazilian pharmaceu tical market.