7th International Critical Care and Emergency Medicine Congress, İstanbul, Türkiye, 12 - 15 Kasım 2020, ss.368
Evaluation
of the First and Emergency Aid Students' Approaches to the Use of Immune
Boosters Against COVID-19 Pandemic
Merve
Saygı Bacanak1, Selma Yazar2
1Department
of First and Emergency Aid, Vocational School of Health-Related Professions,
Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
2Faculty
of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Istanbul Yeni Yuzyil
University, Istanbul, Turkey
Background and Objective: COVID-19 pandemic which is the biggest health problem
of 2020 is likely to cause serious consequences including death in people with
weak immune system. So one of the most important factor is the immunity other
than the viral load in this pandemic. Immune boosters like herbals, vitamins,
minerals, food supplements and functional foods contribute to the immunity and
offer beneficial effects when used appropriately. There is a belief
that these products are natural and harmless and their use is getting very popular
around the world. But incorrect use of the mentioned products can modify the
homeostasis and lead life threatening reactions. So the immune boosters should
be used rationally. The emergency healthcare professionals are at the forefront
of the fight against the pandemic. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study evaluating the approaches of the First and
Emergency Aid Students regarding the use of immune boosters against COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional questionnaire‑based survey was
conducted from June 2020 to October 2020. Ninety five First and Emergency Aid Students in Turkey are voluntarily participated in this study.
Results: Two of 95
were COVID-19 positive. 42.11% applied
immune boosters during the pandemic. 67.5% of them used more than one product
or method at the same time. Majority (40.54%) applied the mentioned immune
boosters few times a week. Concomitant medication use was 10%. Most of the
participants (62.5%) preferred the herbals or natural traditional methods.
Zingiber officinale was the most popular herbal. The second commonly used
product was Vitamin C (42.5%). The source of the information for the used
immune boosters were physicians (45%), internet/social media (45%), friends or
relatives (20%), pharmacies (12.5%), TV programs (12.5%) and advertisements
(2.5%).
Conclusion: This study
highlights that First and Emergency Aid Students needed to apply immune
boosters in the pandemic. More than one immune booster was commonly used at the
same time. These participants may be unaware of a risk of cytokine storm which
is a consequence of overactive innate immunity. Pro-inflammatory cytokines or
other innate immune mechanisms may be over-stimulated via concomitant or over
dose administration of different immune booster products. Hyperactive immunity
can lead autoimmune reactions including allergies. So pro-inflammatory and
immunostimulatory factors including immune boosters should be considered
carefully.