INTRODUCTION: The objective was to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) used by patients submitted to upper endoscopy at Hospital das Clínicas/UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of a 533 patients, aged 17 or older, whose endoscopies had been previously scheduled at the Endoscopy Section of Hospital das Clinicas, of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Data were collected in interviews. Study variables were divided into four groups: social and economic, life habits, morbidity, and drug use. Data were submitted to bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A percentage of 34.1% of the interviewed sample reported the use of NSAID drugs in the period of one month before the endoscopy. The most frequently used NSAID were acetylsalicylic acid and diclofenac. The factors associated with NSAID use were: female gender (OR = 2.07; CI 95% = 1.28-3.34), monthly income > 3 minimum-wages (OR = 3.20; CI 95% = 1.74-5.90), alcohol use (OR = 2.43; CI 95% = 1.39-4.24), gastric symptoms (OR = 1.82; CI 95% = 1.18-2.80), regular use of 4 or more drugs (OR = 4.33; CI 95% = 2.49-7.54) and previous history of peptic ulcer and/or digestive hemorrhage (OR = 0.40; CI 95% = 0.22-0.75). These results are similar to others from developed countries. Moreover, they point towards to the need of greater care by health professionals for the subgroups identified in this study.
Pharmacoepidemiology; Prevalence; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents; Upper endoscopy
