Praktické lekárnictvo 4/2022

Food as an important part of maximizing the effect and minimizing the risks of pharmacotherapy – absorption and gastrointestinal tolerance

Introduction and aim: Food can significantly affect the therapeutic value of a drug, therefore, it is necessary to keep it in mind when creating an individual treatment plan for a patient. The active involvement of physician, pharmacist, nurse, nutritional therapist, and patient is essential to identify, evaluate, and manage the food-drug interaction. The aim of this paper was to analyse oral drugs marketed in the Czech Republic, in which food affects their absorption or gastrointestinal tolerance. Secondly, to provide opportunity to apply identified information in clinical practice in terms of pharmacotherapy individualization with respect to efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy. Methods: Drugs were searched according to the anatomical-therapeutic-chemical classification using the factographic database AISLP. The obtained results were compared with the databases IBM Micromedex, UpToDate Anywhere, and Drugbank. Only active substances with available information on the reason or way of influencing the drug by food were included in the final review. Results: A total of 212 active substances affected by food administration were identified, of which 94 active substances were included in the final review. Conclusion: The timing, composition of food and beverages deserve attention with respect to drug administration. The involvement of pharmacist in forming and controlling the systemic measures in healthcare facilities is another step towards improving patient care.

Keywords: food, drug absorption, maximizing the effect of pharmacotherapy, minimizing the risks of pharmacotherapy