Abstract
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 virologie failure as a result of unknown drug-herb interactions. Consultative pharmacy services in the clinic and retail pharmacies are underutilized.
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