Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
14th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical Sciences (ISOPS), Ankara, Türkiye, 25 - 28 Haziran 2024, ss.351
Introduction: The use of herbal products among the population is
becoming more common in Turkiye. In accordance
with this, it is noted that the number of adverse effects associated with the
use of herbal products is increasing. Phytovigilance, or
phytopharmacovigilance, is defined as the detection, evaluation, and prevention
of adverse reactions and other potential problems associated with the use of
herbal products (1,2). It is very important for physicians who are responsible
for following the treatment of patients to identify and report the side effects
of herbal products. This study aimed to determine, the awareness of physicians
about the phytovigilance system and the factors affecting this awareness, for
the first time in Turkiye.
Materials
and Methods: The descriptive study was conducted at Karadeniz
Technical University Farabi Hospital between November 1, 2023 and February 1,
2024, by using the face-to-face interview technique. It was a survey, including
two main sections and 21 questions. The statistical analysis was performed with
SPSS 23.0. The combined effects of all possible variables, which might be
associated with phytovigilance awareness, were assessed by binary logistic
regression analysis using the Backward LR elimination method. The p<0.05 indicates the significance
level.
Results: Among
268 survey responses in the study, 56.7% of the participants were male, and
66.8% were working in internal medicine. The mean work experience was 6.6 ± 7.7
years. Among the participants, 45.5% had heard of the concept of
phytovigilance. 69.8% of respondents did not know that adverse reactions
related to the use of herbal products were reported in Türkiye. Among those who
were aware of the feedback process, 70.4% did not know that hepatotoxicity and
nephrotoxicity notification forms were filled out in the feedback. Only 27.2%
of physicians knew that there was a phytovigilance contact point in the
hospital where they worked. It was determined that the factors that enhance
phytovigilance awareness were being a specialist physician [Odds ratio (OR) =
4.591; p = 0.001], knowing that adverse effects related to herbal products were
reported feedback (OR = 2.678; p = 0.001), and questioning the use of herbal
products while taking the medical history of patients (OR = 3.522; p = 0.012).
Conclusions: It
was revealed that the knowledge of the physicians about the phytovigilance
system in Turkiye was quite low. To improve awareness, information campaigns on
the phytovigilance system should be organized in hospitals, and the process of
ensuring the safety of herbal products should be integrated into the curricula
of undergraduate medical faculty.