A Preliminary Report on Herbal Medicine Use Among Patients Hospitalized at Two-Large COVID-19 Treatment Centers in Uganda

INTRODUCTION: Herbal medication use among patients with COVID-19 imposes a significant risk of drug-herbal interactions and adverse events. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with herbal medicine use among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 attending two large COVID-19 Treatment Units (CTU) in Uganda. METHODS: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted recruiting patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at the Mulago National Referral Hospital and Namboole Stadium CTUs. Chi-square or Fishers’ exact test for categorical and Mann–Whitney U-test for numerical were used to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. RESULTS: The study was terminated early because of significant reduction in the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and the closure of Namboole CTU. Of the anticipated 422 participants, we recruited 108 (25.6%). Of this, 58 (53.7%) were female, with a median age of 38 (range: 20–75) years. Forty-nine (45.4%) had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Fifty-eight (57.3%) of the participants had ever used herbal medicine and the majority had used them in the past 12 months (71.9%, n = 41) either before the diagnosis of COVID-19 (85.4%, n = 35) or after (36.6%, n = 15). Being vaccinated for COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4–6.8, p = 0.005) and having attained tertiary level of education (aOR: 6.2, 95% CI: 1.7–23.1, p = 0.006), as well as the accessibility to herbalists (aOR: 31.2, 95% CI: 3.7–263.2, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with herbal medication use. The majority of participants reported some improvement after using herbal medicine (80.7%, n = 46) and their doctors or nurses asked almost half of the participants about herbal medicine use (49.5%, n = 53). CONCLUSION: The use of herbal medicines to treat or prevent COVID-19 among hospitalized patients is a widespread practice in Uganda amidst unpublished evidence of their safety and efficacy.