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Abstract

Aim: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in diabetic patients in a South Indian tertiary care teaching hospital. Need for the Study: Majority of the patients are not reporting to their physicians regarding their alternative medicine use along with the contemporary medicines. Clinical pharmacists play a major role in identifying CAM usage, encouraging the patients to report to their respective physicians. By knowing the frequency of alternative medicine use, an expected herb-drug interaction can be minimized. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study observed in 169 diabetic patients. Results: Among 169 diabetic patients, 41.4% of diabetic patients were CAM users. Fenugreek (23.07%) and Keezhanelli leaves (16.9%) were used widely. The majority of the CAM users were above 55 years (57.3%) old and belonged to Class III, which is lower middle class (37.9%) concerning to socioeconomic status. There was a significant association between the CAM users and non-CAM users in age and socioeconomic status (P < 0.017 and P < 0.042), respectively. Many patients chose CAM therapy (41.4%) as they were not satisfied with existing conventional treatments. Conclusion: Patients need to be encouraged to disclose their CAM usage to the health-care providers to avoid drug interactions. The clinical pharmacists and other health-care professionals play a significant role in finding out drug interaction between existing conventional medicine and alternative therapies used by diabetic patients for their glycemic control. By knowing the common risk factors, further complications can be minimized to improve the patient quality of life.

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	JPR Solutions

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