Drug therapy and vascular devices used by patients hospitalized for COVID-19: a descriptive study / Terapia medicamentosa e dispositivos vasculares utilizados por doentes hospitalizados para a COVID-19: um estudo descritivo

Abstract

To describe drug therapy and types of vascular access adopted in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and admitted to the clinical wards of a university hospital, a referential institution for COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Descriptive, retrospective documentary study with a quantitative approach. The sample consisted of 243 electronic medical records from hospitalized patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, between April and June 2020. The selection of participants took place by intentional non-probabilistic sampling. Peripheral venous access was the mostly applied in 83.5% of the patients. The mostly used classes of drugs were analgesics, (81.9%), followed by antiemetics (70.4%), and antihypertensives (51.9%). For medications directed to COVID-19, azithromycin, oseltamivir, ceftriaxone, and hydroxychloroquine stands out with 67.5%, 58.8%, 50.2% and 27.2%, respectively.  Regarding the treatment directed to COVID-19, the medications mostly taken were azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine, justified to a large extent by being recommended by the Ministry of Health in the treatment, according to signs and symptoms (Brazil, 2020).  Patients treated with the medications described had good recovery from the clinical condition. Thus, studies based on randomized clinical trials are suggested to prove the efficacy of drug therapies, including their combination.