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Interactions between dietary supplements in hospitalized patients
Ilana Levy1, Samuel Attias2,3, Eran Ben Arye4,5
1Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. ilana.e.levy@gmail.com.
Internal and Emergency Medicine
|February 4, 2016
Summary
Dietary and herbal supplements (DHS) interactions are common in hospitalized patients, affecting nearly 13% of users and potentially worsening health conditions. Inpatient DHS use is often undocumented, hindering proper medical care and risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Integrative Medicine
Background:
- Inpatient consumption of dietary and herbal supplements (DHS) is increasing, raising concerns about potential interactions.
- While drug-drug interactions are studied, dietary and herbal supplement-supplement (DHS-DHS) interactions in hospitalized patients remain under-evaluated.
- Assessing DHS-DHS interactions is crucial for patient safety and optimizing inpatient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of potential DHS-DHS interactions among hospitalized patients.
- To identify risk factors associated with DHS-DHS interactions in an inpatient setting.
- To assess the documentation rate of DHS use in medical records.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional prospective study was conducted at Bnai Zion Medical Center from 2009-2014.
- A questionnaire identified DHS use in 927 inpatients; 458 (49.4%) reported using 89 different DHS.
- The Natural Medicine Database assessed potential DHS-DHS interactions, and medical files were reviewed for adverse events and documentation rates.
Main Results:
- Potential DHS-DHS interactions were identified in 12.9% of DHS users.
- Three interactions were linked to adverse events.
- Risk factors for DHS-DHS interactions included female gender, polypharmacy, and increased number of consumed DHS.
- DHS use was undocumented in 88.9% of users, with only 18% of interacting DHS documented.
Conclusions:
- Potential DHS-DHS interactions are prevalent in hospitalized patients and can contribute to adverse events or exacerbate existing conditions.
- Inadequate documentation of DHS use poses a significant challenge in identifying and managing these interactions.
- Further research is needed to establish causal relationships between potential DHS-DHS interactions and adverse events.
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