Potential herb-drug interactions found in a community pharmacy

• Autor(a) principal: Batista, C.
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Pinho, C., Castel-Branco, M., Caramona, M., Figueiredo, I.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng; por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/101125
• topic: phytotherapy; herb-drug interactions; pharmacist; enfermeiros; cuidados continuados; prorrogação de internamento; protelamentos de altas clínicas; motivos não clínicos

Phytotherapy has always played a leading role in therapeutics. However, a strong knowledge of the risk-benefit relationship of herbal products by patients and health professionals is necessary. The goals of this study were to characterize the consumption pattern of medicinal plants in patients in a community pharmacy, identify potential herb-drug interactions, and establish a list of recommendations for health professionals and/or patients in order to prevent/minimize negative outcomes arising from these interactions. In a sample of 25 patients, 24 cases of potential herb-drug interactions were detected. Most of the cases corresponded to the simultaneous use of a conventional medication with Ginkgo. The recommendation list involved monitoring the effectiveness and safety of conventional therapy associated with the use of medicinal plants, with particular focus on clinical and laboratory monitoring of the occurrence of bleeding, blood pressure, glycaemia and liver function. The results indicate that there is still a lack of knowledge about the possible risks of herbal products, which may adversely affect patient’s health. The pharmacist is in prime position to raise awareness in the population, avoiding harmful situations for the patient's health.