The Use and the Prescription Pattern of Traditional Chinese Medicine Among Urolithiasis Patients in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study.
J Altern Complement Med. 2016 Jan; 22(1):88-95.JA

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the pattern of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) usage for urolithiasis patients in Taiwan and to determine the most common Chinese herbal products used for urolithiasis.

DESIGN

Retrospective review of urolithiasis patients treated with TCM treatment.

SETTINGS/LOCATION

One million randomly selected samples in the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database between 1997 and 2008.

PATIENTS

Eighty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-one newly diagnosed urolithiasis patients.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The correlation between TCM treatment, demographic factors, or medical conditions.

RESULTS

A total of 62.6% of urolithiasis patients use TCM treatment. A younger age, female gender, polypharmacy, multiple comorbidities, and stone in the lower urinary tract result in a greater tendency to use TCM, after adjusting for demographic factors. Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San Extract Powder and Ji-Sheng-Shen-Qi-Wan Extract Powder are the most frequently prescribed Chinese medicine formulae.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to examine the use of and the prescription pattern for TCM in urolithiasis patients using a random, national population-based sample. More than 62% of urolithiasis patients use TCM, and patients with polypharmacy, multiple comorbidities, and stone in the ureter are more likely to use TCM. The most frequently prescribed Chinese medicine formulae were Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San Extract Powder and Ji-Sheng-Shen-Qi-Wan Extract Powder, which were reported to retard the progression of renal failure and alleviate flank pain or tenderness.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Lin PH
1 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital , Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan . 2 Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Chang Gung University , Taoyuan, Taiwan .
Lin SK
3 Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University , Taipei City, Taiwan . 4 Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital , Ren-Ai Branch, Taipei City, Taiwan .
Hsu RJ
5 Biobank Management Center, the Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center , Taipei, Taiwan . 6 Department of Pathology and Graduate Institute of Pathology and Parasitology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center , Taipei, Taiwan .
Cheng KC
7 Graduate Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University , Taipei, Taiwan . 8 Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University , Taipei, Taiwan .
Liu JM
9 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taoyuan General Hospital , Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taoyuan, Taiwan .

MeSH

AdolescentAdultAgedChildChild, PreschoolDrugs, Chinese HerbalFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleMedicine, Chinese TraditionalMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTaiwanUrolithiasisYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

26359806