Background: Corticosteroids (CS) have long been known as the most powerful of all known anti-inflammatory agents. Since their introduction in 1949, they have shown pivotal role in the treatment of various serious disorders such as autoimmune diseases, allergic processes, organ transplantation, rheumatologic, dermatological, pulmonary, hematological, ophthalmologic, gastrointestinal disorders, and others. Nevertheless, such massive clinical use does not come without risks, where prolonged use has been linked to several serious side effects. Therefore, careful consideration of precautions recommended for safe use of CS is of paramount importance.
Aims and Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) analysis of the proper use of different dosage forms of CS medications in different sets of CS users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to explore the extent to which steroid outpatients were well engaged with medication proper use and safety-related behaviors.
Materials and Methods: A structured interview-based methodology was adopted to assess the KAPs revolving around steroid usage in patients located in the UAE cities; Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Al Ain. Patients (n = 250) were selected randomly from different outpatient clinics all over the previously designated cities. The prepared interview questions were selected based on related therapeutics guidelines regarding aspects of proper patients CS use. Data were collected by well-trained researchers to conduct such interviews. SPSS V16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA) was used for data analysis. Standard descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the data. Students t-test was used to compare the mean difference of continuous variables.
Results: Overall, our study showed poor KAP results among different UAE patients using different CS dosage forms.
Conclusion: Despite the massive use of CS in almost every clinical settings and its inherent associated risks, patients still needs provisions for better education regarding their medication efficacy, safety, and proper use. By careful follow-up of proper CS use instructions, both patients and physicians would positively reach an optimized cost-effective therapeutic approach with much more improved benefit/risk ratio.
Key words: Corticosteroid Usage; Adverse Effects; Patient Awareness
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