Evaluación del nivel de conocimiento sobre interacciones alimento - medicamento en profesionales de la salud de Azuay-Ecuador, 2022

Abstract

Background: Food-drug interactions consist of the kinetic or dynamic alteration of a drug caused by a nutritional component, presenting synergism, decrease or inhibition of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. Recent advances on pharmacological and nutritional interactions indicate the need to prevent them to improve pharmacological treatment. However, they are little known by health professionals, so training and updating at an academic and hospital level is required to provide better patient care. Objective: To determine the level of knowledge about food-drug interactions in health professionals from Azuay-Ecuador, 2022. Method: Cross-sectional analytical design. Through the application of a validated survey on food-drug interactions, the level of knowledge on this subject was evaluated in 330 doctors and 110 biochemists/chemists-pharmacists, selected by convenience sampling. The data was analyzed, tabulated and presented in descriptive tables with percentages and frequencies. Statistical significance was determined using the chi square test. Fisher´s test was used to determine if there is a relationship between the study factor and the variables. Results: 55.80% of doctors and 60.00% of biochemists/pharmaceutical chemists presented a low level of knowledge about food-drug interactions. Conclusions: The mean knowledge score in the group of biochemists/pharmaceutical chemists surveyed was 13/30 (43.33%) and in doctors it was 14/30 (46.66%), corresponding to a low level of knowledge. The findings of this study indicate that there is no clear correlation between the level of knowledge about food-drug interaction and the age, gender, profession, years of experience and level of education of the participants.