title: Characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine use in children with asthma: a nationwide population-based study.
abstract: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease accounting for severe morbidity and mortality in children. To determine the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used to treat pediatric asthma, we conducted a nationwide population-based study by analyzing a cohort of one million randomly sampled patients from the beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Program in Taiwan from 2002 to 2010. Children under 18 years of age with newly diagnosed asthma (ICD-9-CM code: 493, N = 45 833) were enrolled, and 57.95% (N = 26 585) of them had used TCM. The number of TCM users was significantly more than that of non-TCM users in school-age children. The most commonly prescribed TCM formula is Ding-chuan-tang, or Xing-ren (Semen Armeniacae Amarum) for the single herb. Our study is the first to reveal characteristics and prescription patterns of the use of TCM in children with asthma. Further research is needed to elucidate the efficacy and safety of these Chinese herbal products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: T-P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: P-H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: A S-Y
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lien
authors.forename: S-L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: H-H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: H-R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Yen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D009313:National Health Programs; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: complementary and alternative medicine; pediatric asthma; traditional Chinese medicine