Home | Articles
Published on:December 2017
Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, 2017; 51(4s):s675-s678
Original Article | doi:10.5530/ijper.51.4s.98

Use of the Herbal OTC Products and Dietary Supplements by Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: Survey-Based Study


Authors and affiliation (s):

Kowalczyk Adam*1, Bodalska Agnieszka1, Boszkiewicz Kamila2, Karlowicz Bodalska Katarzyna3

1Department of Pharmacognosy, Wroclaw Medical University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Borowska, Wroclaw, POLAND. 2Department of Industrial Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Borowska, Wroclaw, POLAND. 3CF Hasco-Lek, Żmigrodzka, Wroclaw, POLAND.

Abstract:

Context: Among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, there is a growing trend to use self-medication. Many of them take preparations sold over the counter (OTC) and dietary supplements containing plant raw materials. Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the herbal OTC drug and dietary supplement usage among patients treated on the chemotherapy ward. Settings and Design: An anonymous survey was conducted among 92 patients of the chemotherapy ward of the Lower Silesian Oncology Center in Wroclaw (Poland) with the approval of the Bioethical Commission of the Medical University in Wroclaw (no KB-562/2014) and The Declaration of Helsinki. Methods and Material: An anonymous survey was conducted among 92 patients of the chemotherapy ward of the Lower Silesian Oncology Center in Wroclaw (Poland) in 2015. The questions concerned the use of herbal preparations by patients during chemotherapy. Statistical analysis used: The statistical analysis was developed using programs: Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and STATISTICA 10 (StarSoft Inc.). Analysis was performed by χ2 test. Results: The study has confirmed that the use of herbal OTC products and dietary supplements among cancer patients is a common occurrence. The main source of information about herbal preparations is the Internet and the most common place of purchase is a pharmacy. Conclusions: It is necessary to educate cancer patients to increase their awareness of the importance of a doctor’s knowledge about all preparations that they take. Pharmacists play a very important role in self-medication of the patients. Thus, pharmacy students’ education is needed in this field as well.

Key words: Herbal OTC products, Dietary supplements, Chemotherapy; Self-medication. Key Messages: Usage of herbal OTC products by chemotherapy patients based on survey study is a common occurrence. Pharmacy is the main place of their purchase, therefore pharmacist should be well-educated in their role in self-medication of patients

 




 

Impact Factor

IJPER - An Official Publication of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India is pleased to announce continued growth in the Latest Release of Journal Citation Reports (source: Web of Science Data).

 

Impact Factor® as reported in the 2023 Journal Citation Reports® (Clarivate Analytics, 2023): 0.8

The Official Journal of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI)
(Registered under Registration of Societies Act XXI of 1860 No. 122 of 1966-1967, Lucknow)

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (IJPER) [ISSN-0019-5464] is the official journal of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) and is being published since 1967.

DOI HISTORY

IJPER uses reference linking service using Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) by Crossref. Articles from the year 2013 are being assigned DOIs for its permanent URLs