Use of and communication about dietary supplements among hospitalized patients.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Use of dietary supplements (DS) is common in the United States; however little is known about the use of DS specifically in hospitalized patients. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to begin to characterize trends in DS use by hospitalized patients and to assess the degree of patient-physician communication about use of DS that occurs during hospitalization. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional, observational pilot study. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were admitted to the general internal medicine or geriatrics service by house staff residents; those >or= 18 years of age who were medically stable, cognitively intact and fluent in English and/or Spanish were invited to participate in the study. RESULTS: Nearly 80% of hospitalized patients reported use of DS, with 52% reporting use of non-vitamin/non-mineral DS. During the admission process, physicians documented inquiring about DS use only 20% of the time. While the majority of patients had no concern about temporarily discontinuing their DS during hospitalization, 13% of patients reported that they believed there was nothing wrong with continued use of DS while hospitalized regardless of the recommendations provided by their inpatient physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Use of DS in hospitalized patients is common, and communication between patients and physicians regarding their use is limited.