ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence, disclosure and adverse effects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in hospitalised patients, and to explore the associations between patients' perceived side-effects and relevant factors.MethodsPatients who were admitted to a district general hospital and met the eligibility criteria were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Their medications and pertinent details were verified from the medical notes. All quantitative and qualitative data were collated and analysed. A chi-squared test was performed to test the associations of the perceived CAM side-effects with the significance level determined at α=0.05.ResultsA total of 240 in-patients completed the study. They were mostly white British (98.8%). The prevalence of CAM use within two years was 74.6% and one month 37.9%. Only 19 of 91 patients (20.9%) using CAM within one month disclosed their current CAM applications. Nearly half of patients (45.8%) who used CAM within two years experienced various CAM side-effects that tended to resolve after discontinuation. Slightly more than half (57.6%) perceived CAM side-effects and their perceptions were significantly associated with gender (P=0.048) and consideration for future CAM use (P=0.033). Potential interactions between herbal remedies/dietary supplements and prescribed drugs, such as garlic with lisinopril or aspirin, were assessed in 82 patients (45.8%).ConclusionsMost in-patients used CAM and experienced some adverse effects. The disclosure of CAM use and its adverse outcomes should be encouraged by healthcare professionals.

Objectives:This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and perceived outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in secondary care patients and to find out determinants for CAM utilization and perceived effectiveness and side-effects. Materials and Methods: Patients who met the eligibility criteria in this cross-sectional study were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Patients' medications and relevant details were verified from the medical notes. A logistic regression analysis was performed and the significance level set at α = 0.05. Results: A total of 240 in-patients were interviewed. The prevalence of CAM use during admission, within 1 month, within 1 year, and at some point in life was 90.4%, 68.8%, 37.9%, and 8.3%, respectively. Diverse reasons for CAM use or non-use were cited. Nearly two-thirds of patients (63.1%) perceived CAM effectiveness and approximately half (57.6%) were aware of its side-effects. The determinants for CAM use at some point in life and perceived effectiveness could be predicted approximately 20% by two models: Logit P use = 3.404 − 1.044 × Educ + 1.314 × Ward − 1.539 × Consider and Logit P eff = 3.244-0.995 × Gender-0.025 × Age − 1.503 × Consider. Conclusion: Patients decided to use CAM for various reasons and perceived different outcomes. The specific CAM use and its outcomes warrant further studies.

The utilization of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in the management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection could lead to diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the incidence and risks for diabetes mellitus and hypertension amongst HIV-infected patients on cART at ART Clinic of Civil Service Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. Crosssectional research was conducted among 262 consented HIV-infected patients on cART from April to July 2018. Random blood sugar and blood pressure of the patients were measured with glucometer and sphygmomanometer, respectively. The subjects were administered with standardized sociodemographics, treatment, and clinical variable forms. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used, and ethical approval was obtained. The patients had a mean age of 44.32±11.60 years and had received cART for a median duration of 6.01± 2.16 years. There was a high incidence (18.3%) of hypertension and diabetes mellitus diseases among the patients on cART. The majority of 32 (66.67%) of the patients were on Efavirenz + Lamivudine + Tenofovir combination therapy. The risk factors for the comorbidity were gender (OR 1.113; 95% CI 0.014-0.938, p < 0.043), duration on HIV infection (OR 1.084; 95% CI 0.860-1.366, p < 0.049), duration on cART (OR 1.928; 95% CI 0.861-1.679, p < 0.048) and types of cART (OR 1.042; 95% CI 1.000-1.085, p < 0.047). The high incidence of the comorbid conditions in HIV-infected patients on cART affirms the necessity to integrate screening for these two concomitant diseases in the HIV program as part of a healthcare support strategy. Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 23(2): 125-134, 2020