Use and toxicity of traditional and complementary medicine among patients seeking care at an emergency department of a teaching hospital in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE: Traditional and Complementary Medicines (TCM) are widely used worldwide, and many of them have the potential to cause toxicity, interaction with conventional medications and non-adherence to prescribed medications due to patients' preference for the TCM use. However, information regarding their use among patients seeking care at emergency departments (ED) of a healthcare facility is limited. The study aimed to evaluate the TCM use among patients attending the ED of a teaching hospital in Malaysia. STUDY DESIGN: A sub-analysis of data from a prevalence study of medication-related visits among patients at the ED of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was conducted. The study took place over a period of six weeks from December 2014 to January 2015 involving 434 eligible patients. Data on demography, conventional medication, and TCM uses were collected from patient interview and the medical folders. RESULTS: Among this cohort, 66 patients (15.2%, 95%CI 12.0, 19.0) reported concurrent TCM use. Sixteen (24.2%) of the TCM users were using more than one (1) type of TCM, and 17 (25.8%) came to the ED for medication-related reasons. Traditional Malay Medicine (TMM) was the most frequently used TCM by the patients. Five patients (7.6%) sought treatment at the ED for medical problems related to use of TCM. CONCLUSION: Patients seeking medical care at the ED may be currently using TCM. ED-physicians should be aware of these therapies and should always ask patients about the TCM use.

Estimating drug-free period using a graphical method: an alternative way to monitor extended-interval dosing of gentamicin therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Published nomograms to monitor extended-interval dosing (EID) gentamicin therapy were based on a fixed dose of 5 or 7 mg/kg. However, the average dose used for EID gentamicin regimen in our setting was about 3 mg/kg per day. We developed a new method of monitoring based on the duration of drug-free period (DFP) in a 24-h dosing interval. METHODS: Hospitalised adult patients on EID gentamicin were selected. We considered a DFP of between 2 and 8 h as appropriate. Data from two blood samples (2 and 6 h postdose) from each patient were used to estimate the duration of DFP (i.e. DFP method 1). DFP was also calculated for the same patient using an empirically estimated elimination rate constant (Ke ) and the same 6 h postdose concentration value (DFP method 2). Correlation between the two methods was made. An alternative graphical method to estimate DFP was attempted. KEY FINDINGS: Correlation between Ke and age was favourable (r = -0.453; P = 0.001). Ke derived from this empirical relationship was used to estimate DFP method 2. DFP method 1 correlated well with DFP method 2 (r = 0.742; P < 0.001). On this basis, two curves representing minimum and maximum DFPs of 2 and 8 h, respectively, were constructed. The final coordinates, which were plotted from an empirically estimated Ke and a 6 h postdose concentration, were used to determine whether the DFP was within the targeted range. CONCLUSIONS: We have proposed using DFP to monitor EID of gentamicin therapy. A graphical method offers a convenient way to estimate this parameter.