A taste of Chinese medicine!
We report a case of profound anticoagulation caused by interaction between warfarin and danshen, a widely used Chinese herbal medicine, in a patient who had undergone mitral valve replacement. Patients taking warfarin should be warned not to take this herb. In addition, physicians should be alert to the possibility of an interaction with herbal medicine when anticoagulation control becomes difficult and no other causes are apparent.
Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. izzat@cuhk.edu.hk
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Izzat
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Yim
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El-Zufari
D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D010618:Phenanthrolines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010936:Plant Extracts; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza; D014859:Warfarin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000925:Anticoagulants; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010618:Phenanthrolines; D010936:Plant Extracts; C028972:dan-shen root extract; D014859:Warfarin