Awareness about appropriate practice of Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate administration.

Abstract

In patients of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) one of the most frequent and threatening complication is hyperkalemia. Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) commonly known as Kayexalate is one of the treatment options in management of hyperkalemia. Food and Drug Authority (FDA) has recently issued a warning that SPS is not to be administered at the same time with other oral drugs. Objectives: To assess the prevailing concepts about Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate administration and its interactions with other drugs among doctors and patients. Study Design: A Descriptive study. Setting: Three Tertiary Care Health Centers of Lahore. Period: 1st January 2018 till 31st July 2018. Material & Methods: The study population includes adult patients who had suffered from hyperkalemia, and the doctors who have been prescribing the drug and gave consent to participate in the survey. The statistical analysis was performed on SPSS version 23. Results: The total number of study participants were 75, where 50 were doctors and 25 were patients receiving Kayexalate treatment. The age range for doctors was between 24 to 55 years with mean age of 31.4 ±7.2 years. Among doctors 37 (74%) prescribe SPS at some interval from other medications, whereas only 4 (8%) prescribe at the interval recommended by FDA (3 hours). Only 19 (38%) said they knew about the latest guidelines of FDA about SPS interaction with other drugs and 38 (76%) had knowledge that SPS hampers absorption of other drugs. Among population comprising of patients receiving kayexalate, the age range was between 27 to 68 years with mean age of 49.2 ±8.5 years. 11 (44%) patients were advised to take this drug at some interval from other drugs. Conclusion: Hyperkalemia is commonly seen in tertiary care setups, especially in CKD patients. Kayexalate being an affordable option for its treatment, there is a need for improvement in training of doctors about its use and its interactions with food and other medications.