Using medications containing lactose as an excipient for lactose intolerance patients: Insights of clinical practices and regulators roles.

BACKGROUND

Around 70% of the global populations have lactose intolerance (LI) that presents with symptoms like bloating and diarrhea due to the inability to digest lactose. This challenge is compounded as lactose is used as an excipient in 60%-70% of medications, potentially exacerbating LI symptoms and complicating treatment for affected patients.

OBJECTIVES

Explore health care providers (HCPs) knowledge and practice pattern of lactose presence in medications used for patients with LI; the study also aimed to examine the transparency of lactose content disclosure in drug leaflets.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study targeted HCPs using online questionnaires were conducted. Additionally, medication leaflets were reviewed to assess lactose content present and amount.

RESULTS

A total of 651 HCPs, physicians 54.68%, pharmacists 34%, and dietitians 10.9%, who are practicing and agreed to complete the survey have participated in the study. Out of them, only 58% know about the presence of lactose as an excipient material in most drugs and 45% do not think that using medication containing lactose could affect patients with LI. Most pharmacists rely on drug leaflets to look at the presence of lactose in medication. However, scanning 635 medication leaflets for lactose content presence and amount revealed that 50% contain lactose, and only 25.35% of them have specified the exact amount of lactose in their formulation.

CONCLUSION

Despite lactose being the most prevalent excipient ingredient in medications, a lack of knowledge among surveyed HCPs about lactose as an excipient in medications and its impact on patients with LI. Moreover, drug leaflets, as a primary source of drug content, lack transparency in determining the specific amount of lactose. Enhanced education among health practitioners on lactose-containing medications and the impact of using these medications for LI conditions is necessary. Moreover, facilitating finding this information on drug leaflets is required to avoid complications for patients with LI.