The Impact of the COVID-19 “Infodemic” on Drug-Utilization Behaviors: Implications for Pharmacovigilance

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that hit the world in 2020 triggered a massive dissemination of information (an “infodemic”) about the disease that was channeled through the print, broadcast, web, and social media. This infodemic also included sensational and distorted information a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drug safety 2020-08, Vol.43 (8), p.699-709
Main Authors: Tuccori, Marco, Convertino, Irma, Ferraro, Sara, Cappello, Emiliano, Valdiserra, Giulia, Focosi, Daniele, Blandizzi, Corrado
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiotensin
Angiotensin II
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
Anti-inflammatory agents
Antihypertensives
Chloroquine
Clinical trials
Communication
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cytokines
Digital media
Disease
Drug dosages
Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance
Emergency management
Emergency preparedness
Enzyme inhibitors
Enzymes
Hydroxychloroquine
Hypertension
Hypotheses
Infections
Inflammation
Information dissemination
Leading
Leading Article
Medical prognosis
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Opinion leaders
Pandemics
Peptidyl-dipeptidase A
Pharmacology
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Pharmacovigilance
Respiratory distress syndrome
Risk taking
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Social networks
Viral diseases
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Summary:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that hit the world in 2020 triggered a massive dissemination of information (an “infodemic”) about the disease that was channeled through the print, broadcast, web, and social media. This infodemic also included sensational and distorted information about drugs that likely first influenced opinion leaders and people particularly active on social media and then other people, thus affecting choices by individual patients everywhere. In particular, information has spread about some drugs approved for other indications (chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, favipiravir, and umifenovir) that could have led to inappropriate and therefore hazardous use. In this article, we analyze the rationale behind the claims for use of these drugs in COVID-19, the communication about their effects on the disease, the consequences of this communication on people’s behavior, and the responses of some influential regulatory authorities in an attempt to minimize the actual or potential risks arising from this behavior. Finally, we discuss the role of pharmacovigilance stakeholders in emergency management and possible strategies to deal with other similar crises in the future.
ISSN:0114-5916
1179-1942
DOI:10.1007/s40264-020-00965-w