Table 2.
Self-medication, reason and respiratory symptom improvement with various drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown in Peru.
| Variables | Acetaminophen | Ibuprofen | Azithromycin | Hydroxychloroquine | Penicillin | Antiretrovirals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use during lockdown | ||||||
| Yes | 1023 (27.0%) | 282 (7.4%) | 182 (4.8%) | 28 (0.7%) | 87 (2.3%) | 60 (1.6%) |
| No | 2769 (73.0%) | 3510 (92.6%) | 3610 (95.2%) | 3764 (99.3%) | 3705 (97.7%) | 3732 (98.4%) |
| Reason | ||||||
| Cold or flu | 675 (66.0%) | 162 (57.6%) | 98 (53.9%) | 14 (50.0%) | 60 (68.9%) | 41 (68.3%) |
| No symptoms | 17 (1.7%) | 7 (2.5%) | 3 (1.7%) | 2 (7.2%) | 1 (1.2%) | 1 (1.7%) |
| COVID-19 preventive | 6 (0.6%) | 1 (0.4%) | 7 (3.9%) | 3 (10.7%) | 2 (2.3%) | 4 (6.7%) |
| COVID-19 symptoms | 65 (5.4%) | 9 (3.2%) | 23 (12.6%) | 1 (3.6%) | 1 (1.2%) | 3 (5.0%) |
| COVID-19 positive | 6 (0.6%) | 1 (0.4%) | 8 (4.4%) | 3 (10.7%) | 1 (1.2%) | 1 (1.7%) |
| Consume it regularly | 76 (7.4%) | 26 (9.2%) | 15 (8.2%) | 3 (10.7%) | 6 (6.9%) | 5 (8.3%) |
| Other reason | 178 (17.3%) | 75 (26.7%) | 28 (15.4%) | 2 (7.1%) | 16 (18.3%) | 5 (8.3%) |
| Symptom improvement | ||||||
| All symptoms improved | 482 (47.1%) | 136 (48.4%) | 79 (43.4%) | 12 (42.9%) | 41 (47.1%) | 36 (60.0%) |
| Many symptoms improved | 287 (28.0%) | 66 (23.5%) | 56 (30.8%) | 7 (25.0%) | 30 (34.5%) | 18 (30.0%) |
| Some symptoms improved | 96 (9.4%) | 34 (12.1%) | 27 (14.8%) | 6 (21.4%) | 6 (6.9%) | 5 (8.3%) |
| One symptom improved | 135 (13.2%) | 34 (12.1%) | 11 (6.0%) | 1 (3.6%) | 7 (8.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| No improvement | 23 (2.3%) | 11 (3.9%) | 9 (5.0%) | 2 (7.1%) | 3 (3.5%) | 1 (1.7%) |