Adverse reactions of natural health products/drugs under-reported, study shows
News Desk
The adverse effects of using prescription drugs side by side with
natural health products (NHP) are being under-reported, so the
potential risks may be underestimated by health-care professionals and
the public, a study from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada
shows.
A literature review and survey of 132 pharmacists revealed that while
47 per cent reported that they had encountered a patient with a
suspected adverse event, only 1.5 per cent reported this to Health
Canada. In contrast, 19 per cent of the pharmacists had reported
adverse reactions to prescription or non-prescription drugs.
The study, co-authored by the U of A, the University of Toronto and
Health Canada, is published in this month's issue of The Annals of
Pharmacotherapy.
"The data show that adverse events are not being reported or are being
under-reported at a dramatic rate," said Dr. Sunita Vohra, one of the
study authors and an associate professor of pediatrics at the
University of Alberta. "Natural health products should be treated with
due respect." While the number of potential adverse events is low
relative to the rates of NHP use in Canada, such products may be
effective, but they may also have side effects, Vohra said. Natural
health products include such products vitamins, minerals probiotics,
St. John's wort, echinacea and garlic. There are 50,000 such products
for sale in Canada.
In the survey, the majority of pharmacists felt they knew enough about
just two drug-health product interactions to counsel patients. Adverse
reactions can range from mild rashes and headaches to much more
serious effects by patients using prescription medication such as
blood thinners or insulin.
And while the pharmacists reported that they spent up to 30 minutes
per day counselling patients on the use of natural health products,
they estimated that only five per cent of patients who purchase
products ask about potential drug interactions. "The public is less
likely to see natural health products as risky," Vohra noted.
The lack of available data on interactions makes it difficult to
provide patients and health care workers with useful advice for
managing adverse reactions associated with these products. "To improve
patient safety, new ways of capturing data are necessary," Vohra said.
Possible ways to do that include active surveillance to monitor for
harms. "Select pharmacies agree to be 'sentinel sites', actively
asking every patient about possible adverse events, and reporting all
data so we can learn which NHP-drug combinations are safe, and which
aren't."
###
The study was funded by Health Canada.
For more information on this study contact:
Dr. Sunita Vohra
Department of Pediatrics
University of Alberta
780-407-2106
svo...@ualberta.ca
Contact: Bev Betkowski
beverly....@ualberta.ca
780-492-3808
University of Alberta
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