Traditional Chinese Medicine May Hinder Anesthesia

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM), especially in prescriptions, can cause complications if they are taken just before anesthesia and surgery, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong surveyed 601 patients who underwent routine pre-surgery checks between January 2003 and September 2004, and found that 80% took over-the-counter traditional herbal soups and teas, 12% did not take any traditional herbal medicine, and 8% took prescribed herbal medicine.

Users of TCHM by prescription were found to be more than two times more likely to experience low levels of potassium and/or impaired clotting than non-users in the preoperative period. The duration of anesthesia was also longer in users of TCHM by prescription than with self-prescribed users of TCHM. The study named licorice, rehmannia, astragalus, atractylodes, and eucommia as potentially harmful traditional herbs if taken in prescription form before surgery. The study was published in the September 2006 issue of Anesthesia.

"During surgery, because of the anaesthetic drugs we give to the patients, it would make them more likely to develop arrhythmia. The interaction with anaesthesia will provoke arrythmia more easily,” said co-author Dr. Chui Po-tong, honorary clinical associate professor of the department of anesthesia and intensive care.

The study emphasized that over-the-counter herbal soups and tea were considered safe, but that prescription TCHM was a lot more potent. A major limitation to the findings is that the study evaluated traditional Chinese medicines that contain complex mixtures of a variety of herbs. Without standardization of these mixtures, it is difficult to identify what herbal quantities patients are actually receiving.



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Chinese University of Hong Kong