University study identifies dangers of using Chinese practitioners' prescriptions before operations
Medical experts at Chinese University have found that patients taking prescribed Chinese herbal medicine before undergoing surgery and anaesthesia have a higher risk of complications.
A study carried out by the department of anaesthesia and intensive care between 2003 and 2004 investigated the use of herbal medicine among 601 patients and the relationship between herbs and the risk of developing complications before, during, and after surgery and anaesthesia. Normally, herbs can have beneficial effects but these effects can cause complications if a patient is to undergo surgery.
Of the patients surveyed, 80 per cent, or 483, took one or more self-medicated Chinese medicines in the form of soups, teas and pre-packed preparations within two weeks of surgery. Another 8 per cent, or 47, took Chinese medicine by prescription. The rest did not take any herbal medicine.
The findings showed patients taking prescribed Chinese herbal medicine were twice as likely to develop complication before surgery than patients who did not take herbal medicine and those who had self-medicated.
'Traditional Chinese medicine might not work well with anaesthesia and surgery and therefore patients develop complications including prolonged bleeding and low potassium levels in blood,' clinical associate professor Chui Po-tong said. 'Patients might suffer from blood loss during surgery if it takes longer for their blood to clot and low potassium levels might weaken strength of heart muscle, causing irregular heart beat.'
