Frequency and pattern of Chinese herbal medicine prescriptions for chronic hepatitis in Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been commonly used in treating liver diseases in Asian countries.


OBJECTIVE
To conduct a large-scale pharmacoepidemiological study and evaluate the frequency and pattern of CHM prescriptions in treating chronic hepatitis.


METHODS
We obtained the database of traditional Chinese medicine outpatient claims from the national health insurance in Taiwan for the whole 2002. Patients with chronic hepatitis were identified by the corresponding diagnosis of International Classification of Disease among claimed visiting files. Corresponding prescription files were analyzed, and association rule were applied to evaluate the co-prescription of CHM in treating chronic hepatitis.


RESULTS
Among the 91,080 subjects treated by CHM for chronic hepatitis, the peak age was in the 40 s, followed by 30 s and 50 s. Male/female ratio was 2.07:1. Long-dan-xie-gan-tang and Saliva miltiorrhiza (Dan-shen) were the most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal formula and single herbal drug, respectively. The most common two-drug prescription was Jia-wei-xia-yao-san plus Saliva miltiorrhiza, and the most common three-drug prescription was Jia-wei-xia-yao-san plus Saliva miltiorrhiza and Artemisia capillaries (Yin-chen-hao).


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed the utilization pattern of Chinese herbal drugs or formulae in treating chronic hepatitis. Further researches and clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy of these Chinese herbs or its ingredients in treating chronic hepatitis.
Chen
Fang-Pey
FP
Center for Traditional Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Kung
Yen-Ying
YY
Chen
Yu-Chun
YC
Jong
Maw-Shiou
MS
Chen
Tzeng-Ji
TJ
Chen
Fun-Jou
FJ
Hwang
Shinn-Jang
SJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000032:analysis; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D013624:Taiwan
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D005978:Glutathione