Concomitant Use of Herbal and Conventional Medicines among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Public Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Solomon Getnet Meshesha; Mariamawit Yonathan Yeshak; Gebremedhin Beedemariam Gebretekle; Zelalem Tilahun; Teferi Gedif Fenta

doi:10.1155/2020/4871459

Concomitant Use of Herbal and Conventional Medicines among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Public Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Jun 15:2020:4871459. doi: 10.1155/2020/4871459. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Solomon Getnet Meshesha¹, Mariamawit Yonathan Yeshak², Gebremedhin Beedemariam Gebretekle³, Zelalem Tilahun³, Teferi Gedif Fenta³

Affiliations

¹ Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
² Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
³ Social and Administrative Pharmacy Working Group, Department of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Introduction: The majority of the population in developing countries including Ethiopia still relies on traditional medicines (TMs). Patients with chronic illness like diabetes mellitus (DM) are dissatisfied with conventional medicines and thus are more likely to simultaneously use herbal medicines (HMs). However, such practice could result in potential herb-drug interaction. This study aimed to identify the commonly used HMs among patients with DM and determine the magnitude of concomitant use of herbal and conventional antidiabetic medicines.

Method: A health facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to determine the magnitude of concomitant use. Patients with DM and prescribers from four public hospitals were the study population for the quantitative and qualitative study, respectively. Simple descriptive statistics were used to describe variables for the quantitative data, and content analysis had been conducted manually for qualitative data.

Result: Out of 791 respondents, 409 (51.7%) used traditional medicine at least once in their life time, and 357 (45.1%) used traditional medicine in the last six months prior to data collection. A majority (288 (80.7%)) of the respondents used HMs after starting the conventional antidiabetic medicines within the last six months. Moringa stenopetala, Thymus vulgaris, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Nigella sativa, and Allium sativum were among the frequently mentioned HMs. Prescribers were requesting patients' HM use when they saw sign of liver toxicity and skin disease, and they were not documenting their history in the patient's chart.

Conclusion: Concomitant use of herbal and conventional antidiabetic medicines was a common practice. Cognizant of its potentially serious herb-drug interactions, efforts should be made to improve awareness and knowledge of healthcare providers about HM potential effects. Further studies on dose, frequency, duration, and modes of interaction are recommended.