Assessing the Knowledge and Prescription Practice of Gastroenterologists and Pharmacists Toward Probiotics in Saudi Arabia: An Electronic Survey-Based Study

Samah A Alharbi,1 Najla A Obaid2 1Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Najla A Obaid, Email [email protected]: Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide many benefits to the human body when supplemented with a diet. In Saudi Arabia, there are limited studies on the use of probiotic supplements for some gastrointestinal inflammatory and infectious conditions. Many health professionals who provide health care for patients with gastrointestinal conditions may recommend probiotics at different degrees based on their knowledge and experience. This study aimed to explore the knowledge and practice of gastroenterologists and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding probiotics.Methods: We measured the practice of recommending, prescribing, and using probiotics by analyzing the responses of the healthcare specialists (gastroenterologists and pharmacists) using an anonymous online survey. The survey was constructed to explore the knowledge, use, and manner of prescribing probiotics by healthcare practitioners in the Saudi community to discuss health benefits with patients with gastrointestinal conditions.Results: Most gastroenterologists (61.5%) partially disagreed that probiotics could benefit the treatment of digestive symptoms. However, a third of the pharmacists agreed that probiotic products could relieve digestive symptoms. The attitude toward and practice of prescribing probiotics depend on many factors, including professionals’ beliefs in the benefits of probiotics, insufficient evidence from previous studies and clinical trials about the beneficial use of probiotics, cost, and manufacturing brands.Conclusion: Gastroenterologists’ and pharmacists’ knowledge of probiotics was up to date as evident by their ability to identify specific digestive disorders for which probiotics may be beneficial, as well as their rejection of the notion that probiotics are universally effective in all gastrointestinal disorders, which is a commonly held belief in the community. The cost of probiotics as supplements to dairy products or as brands alone may also affect the prescription of probiotics by health professionals, as shown in the current study.Keywords: perception, probiotics, gastroenterologist, pharmacist, practice