FASHIONABLE MEDICINE: 1ST MOROCCAN EVALUATION OF MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE ON PHYTOTHERAPY AMONG UROLOGISTS!

The green light is on for herbal medicine! As a result of the selection of plants with proven medicinal properties, herbal medicine is considered a full-fledged medicine. Urinary tract infections, benign prostatic hyperplasia, urinary stones. Herbal medicine can help with many urological diseases, but not all pathologies.

Objective:Our study aims to evaluate the knowledge and to make an inventory of the use of herbal medicine by urologists.

Materials and methods:This is a quantitative, descriptive study, using an anonymous questionnaire, which was launched in March 2023. All urologists working in the public sector were included in this study.

Results:Out of the 105 physicians asked to answer the online questionnaire, 64 complete responses were obtained, for a response rate of 60.95%. All urologists were male. 62.5% of the physicians were residents, 18.8% were professors, and the same percentage was found for specialists. Among the 64 respondents, 96.87% had never received any training in herbal therapy. Thinking that it could be useful, 26 physicians were willing to receive training in herbal therapy. Although 100% of our physicians were aware of drug interactions when medicinal plants are taken concomitantly with conventional treatments, 48 urologists were unaware of the plants used in urinary tract pathology. 93.75% of the respondents said that their patients mentioned the use of medicinal plants during consultations. Only 8 practitioners used herbal medicine in their urological practice and advised its use with conventional drugs.

Conclusion:In order to guarantee greater patient safety and to avoid the anarchic use of medicinal plants, continuous training for our urologists is essential.