Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of the human and the environment

From 2019, life in the world has mainly been determined by successive waves of the COVID-19 epidemic. During this time, the virus structure, action, short-and long-term effects of the infection were discovered , treatments were developed. This epidemic undoubtedly affected people's lives, but increasing attention is also being paid to the effects of the epidemic on the environment. Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews , Meta-analyses) guidelines, a global scoping review of peer-reviewed information has been conducted on the use of over-the-co unter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infections and their positive and negative effects on the human body, the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on aquatic organisms, and their adverse effects on non-target organisms. The literature from 1998 to 2021 was analysed using the Scopus (R), Web of ScienceTM (WoS) and Google Scholar databases. As non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs place a heavy burden on the environment, all reports of the presence of these drugs in the environment during the pandemic period have been thoroughly analysed. Of the 70 peer-reviewed records within the scope, only 14% (n = 10) focussed on the analysis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs concentrations in wastewater and surface waters during the pandemic period. The percentage of these works indicates that it is still an open topic, and this issue should be supplemented with further reports in which the results obtained during the pandemic, which has been going on for several years, will be published. The authors hope this review will inspire scientists to investigate the problem of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the environment to protect them for the next generation.

Automated summary

Since 2019, the world has been greatly influenced by the successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, researchers have made discoveries about the structure, action, short- and long-term effects of the virus, and have developed treatments. While the pandemic has undoubtedly impacted people's lives, there is also growing attention on its effects on the environment. This review analyzed the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treating SARS-CoV-2 symptoms, their effects on the human body and aquatic organisms, and their presence in the environment. The findings highlight the need for further research and report on the environmental impact of NSAIDs during the pandemic.