Potential drug–drug interactions of frequently prescribed medications in long COVID detected by two electronic databases

Abstract

Infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) leads to a wide range of acute and chronic complications including long COVID, a well-known chronic sequela. Long COVID often necessitates long-term treatment, which may lead to an increased potential for drug–drug interactions (DDIs). The objective of this study was to assess potential DDIs among frequently prescribed medications in long COVID by using two electronic databases. Sixty frequently prescribed agents were selected from Thailand’s National List of Essential Medicine 2022 for potential DDI analysis by Micromedex and Drugs.com. From these databases, 488 potential DDIs were identified. There were 271 and 434 DDI pairs based on Micromedex and Drugs.com, respectively. Among these DDIs, 77 pairs were labeled as contraindicated or major by both databases. The most common mechanisms for these serious interactions are cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibition (45%), CYP induction (19%), and QT interval prolongation (7.8%). Based on Fleiss’ kappa (0.073), there was only slight agreement of the DDI severity classifications between these two databases. In conclusion, a large number of potential DDIs were detected among frequently prescribed medications for long COVID. Health care providers should be aware of these DDIs, particularly those that are deemed as contraindicated or major. These DDIs are most likely to cause significant adverse events in patients with long COVID because polypharmacy is common.