An assessment of herbal therapy use, adherence and utilization of pharmacy services in HIV clinics.
OBJECTIVE
To assess herbal therapy use, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and pharmacy service utilization in two HIV clinics using a prospective questionnaire-based assessment.


RESULTS
Seventy-six patients completed the questionnaire. Twenty-six patients (34%) reported using at least one herbal therapy; 14 (54%) reported this to their provider. Providers correctly predicted herbal therapy use in 10 (38%) patients reporting herbal therapy use. Seventy-three patients (96%) reported a high level of adherence (> 90%), while only 37% had a viral load < 80 copies/ml. Clinic and community-based pharmacy services were underutilized.


CONCLUSIONS
Herbal therapy use was common, under-reported and difficult for providers to predict. Unreported herbal therapy use could lead to virologic failure as a result of unknown drug-herb interactions. Consultative pharmacy services in the clinic and retail pharmacies are underutilized.
Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY 12208, USA.
John J
JJ
Faragon
Bonnie D
BD
Purdy
Peter J
PJ
Piliero