Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Classified as a common practice among the general population, self-medication is defined as the use of medications without prior guidance from a healthcare professional, driven by easy access to medications and the desire for rapid relief from mild symptoms. However, this practice is associated with significant risks to kidney function and the reliability of laboratory test results. The present study aimed to analyze the impacts of self-medication on renal function, as well as the main urinary changes and laboratory interferences resulting from the indiscriminate use of medications. This is an integrative literature review conducted in the Scielo and PubMed databases, using the descriptors “Self-medication,” “Drugs,” and “Public health,” combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR, considering publications from 2016 to 2025. The results demonstrated that the inappropriate use of drugs, especially nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and antibiotics, can compromise renal homeostasis by reducing renal blood flow, decreasing the glomerular filtration rate, and causing hydroelectrolytic changes. In addition, urinalysis enables the early identification of abnormalities such as proteinuria, hematuria, and the presence of casts, while certain medications can produce false-positive or false-negative results. It is concluded that self-medication represents a multifactorial public health problem, highlighting the need for educational initiatives, laboratory monitoring, and strategies that promote the rational use of medications.
Source: Revista Universitária Brasileira
Language: Portuguese
Subfield: Nephrology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220122750