ISSN : 0975-9492
CODEN : IJPSQQ





INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMA SCIENCES AND RESEARCH


Open Access

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ABSTRACT

Title : KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS AND THE ROLE OF PHARMACIST IN THE PREVENTION
Authors : ELA BEBEÇI, VILMA PAPAJANI, JOSIF RISTO
Keywords : interactions nutritional supplements - drugs, pharmacist, prevention, questionnaire
Issue Date : January 2015
Abstract :
Millions of people today use nutritional supplements along with prescription and non prescription medications. Although many consumers believe that nutritional supplements are safe, the adverse drug reactions which derive from them, especially from their interactions with drugs, are not always widely understood or known by patients.Objectives: 1. To evaluate the knowledge regarding the common drug– nutritional supplements interactions among the patients 2. To evaluate the role of pharmacists in preventing these interactions.
Materials and Methods: The survey included randomly selected 200 patients who visited different community pharmacies located in the city of Tirana, Albania between December 2013 and May 2014.
Results: Among 71 % of the patients who used nutritional supplements, 39.5 % were aware that nutritional supplements can interact with medications. Patients who were more informed for these interactions, were mainly 18-25 and 26-40 years old. About 23.86 % of patients claimed that pharmacists always asked them about medications or nutritional supplements administered simultaneously, while approximately 28% of pharmacists affirmed that they always informed their patients about interactions nutritional supplements- medicaments.
Conclusions: Nutritional supplements are often considered safe and natural and people are unaware of possible adverse effects associated to their use, especially when they are combined with drugs. The role of the pharmacist in preventing adverse effects resulting by the interactions drugs-nutritional supplements is essential in preserving the patient's life.
Page(s) : 109-112
ISSN : 0975-9492
Source : Vol. 6, No.1