Traditional Chinese Medicine Use among Emergency Patients in Hong Kong

Introduction Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) use has been believed to be common in Hong Kong but no data existed on its prevalence among emergency patients. We conducted a prospective survey to study the prevalence of its use, the type of TCM use, frequency and nature of associated adverse reactions. Methods All accident & emergency department (AED) attendances at the United Christian Hospital were screened by the triage nurse and attending doctor for TCM use and its type in a consecutive 31 day period. The causal relationships between the TCM and their presenting illness were also assessed and decided by the doctor in-charge. Results 291 out of 21,475 patients (1.4%) reported TCM use within one week. Among them, 117 (40.2%) consumed Chinese herbal medicine, 75 (25.8%) took proprietary Chinese medicine, 1 (0.3%) took both, 96 (33.0%) received topical treatment and 2 (0.7%) were unclassified, with 22 out of the 291 TCM users (7.6%) presented for TCM-related toxicity. Most complications were mild, the commonest ones being dermatitis after topical treatment (68.2%) and allergic reaction after oral intake (22.7%). Conclusion A small number of patients took TCM treatment shortly before AED consultation. Most TCM-related toxicities were mild and the commonest reactions were dermatitis and systemic allergy.