Shedding light on pharmacists’ knowledge of kidney stones’ etiology and treatment

BACKGROUND: The recurring nature of kidney stones (KS) makes it difficult to control and treat. Patients’ education plays a part in reducing disease recurrence. Pharmacists participate in the healthcare services through educating patients with kidney stones about KS preventive measures and medications that greatly reduce the disease frequency and the treatment cost. Insufficient pharmacists’ knowledge may affect the services’ quality and result in misuse of KS medications. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the pharmacists’ level of knowledge to provide adequate information about KS preventive measures, medications, and treatments for patients with kidney stones in Jordan. METHODS: An online descriptive survey was distributed to pharmacists to assess their knowledge about KS causes, prevention, and treatment. The results were analyzed using the SPSS software. RESULTS: There were 393 pharmacists participated in this study. Pharmacists demonstrated an overall intermediate level of knowledge about KS. They showed an excellent level of knowledge regarding KS types and etiology, an intermediate level of knowledge about KS preventive measures and treatment, and poor knowledge about home remedies and drugs that promote KS formation. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists knowledge about KS management through diet and medications need to be improved. This could be through focusing on pharmacists’ training for the effective implementation of knowledge in the clinical practice. Adopting guidelines by pharmacists may reduce the risk of KS recurrence and provide pharmacist-led patient education about KS management in hospitals and community pharmacies.