July 19, 2004

By: Amelia Mendoza
Website: http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com

Doctors and patients have a joint responsibility to raise the issue of complementary medicine

With the growing use of herbal medicines, a paper in the June issue of the British Journal of General Practice, warns that both doctors and patients have a joint responsibility to raise the issue of possible or actual herbal medicine use. The study focuses on herbal medicines and warfarin in order to estimate the prevalence of use.

Dr Lindsay Smith et al invited all practices within the Somerset and North and East Devon Primary Care Research Network area to participate and of these 35 agreed. A total of 2600 questionnaire packs were sent out to patients on the practice lists who were taking warfarin. The questionnaire was designed to document the co-ingestion of warfarin and complementary medicines.

The main target was a specific group of herbal compounds that had previously been implicated for interacting with warfarin: garlic, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, feverfew, ginger and St John’s wort. A total of 1360 questionnaire replies were received.

Overall 19.2% of patients reported taking one or more complementary medicines in this survey. Of these, 8.8% reported taking one or more of the herbal medications specified on the questionnaire and thought to interact with warfarin. Other herbal, complementary or homeopathic treatments, not specified in the survey questionnaire, were being taken by 14.3% of patients.

Responders were asked if they thought that the herbal medicine could interfere with other drugs prescribed by their doctor. Of 1109 answering this question 5% definitely felt that they could, 23.3% thought the might, 52.5% were uncertain, 15.1% thought probably not and 4.1% definitely not.

Only 4.1% had discussed taking herbal preparations with their GP. Patients taking any complementary medicine treatment were less likely to believe that herbal preparations could interfere with other medicines prescribed by their doctor.

The results suggest that a considerable proportion of patients who take warfarin also self-medicate with herbal remedies. The vast majority do not discuss this with their doctor or other healthcare professionals. Several of the remedies that patients self-prescribe have the potential to interact with warfarin.

The authors suggest that GPs prescribing warfarin should always ask about these potential interactions because of the widespread and growing use of herbal medicines.

Dr Smith, said: The message that seems to emerge is that both doctors and their patients have a joint responsibility to raise the issue of possible or actual herbal medicine use in general, and herb-drug interactions in particular, when warfarin is prescribed. GPs should actively ask patients what form of complementary medicine they are using.

About The Author:

Amelia Mendoza is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com.  Recommending the best vitamins, minerals, herbs and weight loss products for optimum health.