Clipping Board » Drug Poisoning ─ It is necessary to be aware of the toxic side effects before taking medication.
[Reporter Hong Suqing / Taipei Report]
A woman nearly lost her life due to drug-induced pneumonia caused by taking traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss! Recently, a hospital received a case where a woman developed interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory failure after self-administering the Chinese medicine "Fangfeng Tongsheng San" for weight loss. After emergency intubation and treatment with steroids and other medications, she was discharged safely.
Similar cases have occurred in Japan.
In fact, there are several brands of the Chinese herbal medicine "Fangfeng Tongsheng San" in Japan. The side effects listed on the packaging include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and insomnia, as well as a potential serious side effect—interstitial pneumonia. At least two cases were reported in 2006.
The Department of Health stated that it will not add warning labels for now. Lin Yixin, Chairman of the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, explained that Japan treats Chinese medicine similarly to Western medicine in terms of regulation. If there is no evidence to disprove a connection, warning labels are added. Additionally, Japanese Chinese medicine does not undergo processes like preparation, and their doctors do not adjust prescriptions based on symptom changes over time, unlike traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Taiwan.
However, the Department of Health has allocated a budget this year to study the relationship between interstitial pneumonia and certain Chinese medicines, including Xiaochaihu Tang and Fangfeng Tongsheng San. Clinically, doctors, pharmacists, and the public are encouraged to report potential drug side effects through the Chinese medicine adverse reaction system. By collecting data through these dual approaches, it can be determined whether warning labels are necessary.
The patient, a 40-year-old housewife, had no underlying diseases, did not smoke, had no drug addiction, and no travel history in the past three months. She was hospitalized due to increasingly severe shortness of breath, dry cough, and persistent fever. On the second day of hospitalization, she experienced acute respiratory failure and was intubated and placed on a ventilator. Chest X-rays showed extensive lung infiltration, and a lung biopsy confirmed interstitial pneumonia.
Various tests conducted after hospitalization suggested that the patient's condition was likely drug-induced interstitial pneumonia. Upon detailed questioning, the patient, who is 163 cm tall and weighs 54 kg, admitted to taking Fangfeng Tongsheng San for weight loss ten days before hospitalization. After treatment with steroids, her symptoms significantly improved, and she was discharged two weeks later.
This case was published by the doctor in a thoracic medicine journal. In the paper's abstract, the doctor noted that an increasing number of drugs are known to cause interstitial pneumonia of varying severity, ranging from mild lung infiltration to life-threatening acute respiratory failure. The doctor recommended that for unexplained interstitial pneumonia, physicians should consider drug-induced interstitial pneumonia, including that caused by Chinese medicine.
Doctors believe it is related to constitution.
Wu Qingping, director of Penghu Hospital, pointed out that drug-induced interstitial pneumonia can be similar to an allergic reaction or caused by inflammation leading to lung fibrosis.
A thoracic physician noted that this issue is related to constitution, primarily a special allergic-like reaction to drugs. Regardless of whether taking Chinese or Western medicine, if problems arise, it is best to inform the doctor.
Source: http:/ / www. libertytimes. com. ……08/ new/ may/ 5/ today- life5. htm
Suspected Chinese Medicine Fangfeng Tongsheng Powder for Weight Loss Leads to Pneumonia
A woman nearly lost her life due to drug-induced pneumonia caused by taking traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss! Recently, a hospital received a case where a woman developed interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory failure after self-administering the Chinese medicine "Fangfeng Tongsheng San" for weight loss. After emergency intubation and treatment with steroids and other medications, she was discharged safely.
Similar cases have occurred in Japan.
In fact, there are several brands of the Chinese herbal medicine "Fangfeng Tongsheng San" in Japan. The side effects listed on the packaging include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and insomnia, as well as a potential serious side effect—interstitial pneumonia. At least two cases were reported in 2006.
The Department of Health stated that it will not add warning labels for now. Lin Yixin, Chairman of the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, explained that Japan treats Chinese medicine similarly to Western medicine in terms of regulation. If there is no evidence to disprove a connection, warning labels are added. Additionally, Japanese Chinese medicine does not undergo processes like preparation, and their doctors do not adjust prescriptions based on symptom changes over time, unlike traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Taiwan.
However, the Department of Health has allocated a budget this year to study the relationship between interstitial pneumonia and certain Chinese medicines, including Xiaochaihu Tang and Fangfeng Tongsheng San. Clinically, doctors, pharmacists, and the public are encouraged to report potential drug side effects through the Chinese medicine adverse reaction system. By collecting data through these dual approaches, it can be determined whether warning labels are necessary.
The patient, a 40-year-old housewife, had no underlying diseases, did not smoke, had no drug addiction, and no travel history in the past three months. She was hospitalized due to increasingly severe shortness of breath, dry cough, and persistent fever. On the second day of hospitalization, she experienced acute respiratory failure and was intubated and placed on a ventilator. Chest X-rays showed extensive lung infiltration, and a lung biopsy confirmed interstitial pneumonia.
Various tests conducted after hospitalization suggested that the patient's condition was likely drug-induced interstitial pneumonia. Upon detailed questioning, the patient, who is 163 cm tall and weighs 54 kg, admitted to taking Fangfeng Tongsheng San for weight loss ten days before hospitalization. After treatment with steroids, her symptoms significantly improved, and she was discharged two weeks later.
This case was published by the doctor in a thoracic medicine journal. In the paper's abstract, the doctor noted that an increasing number of drugs are known to cause interstitial pneumonia of varying severity, ranging from mild lung infiltration to life-threatening acute respiratory failure. The doctor recommended that for unexplained interstitial pneumonia, physicians should consider drug-induced interstitial pneumonia, including that caused by Chinese medicine.
Doctors believe it is related to constitution.
Wu Qingping, director of Penghu Hospital, pointed out that drug-induced interstitial pneumonia can be similar to an allergic reaction or caused by inflammation leading to lung fibrosis.
A thoracic physician noted that this issue is related to constitution, primarily a special allergic-like reaction to drugs. Regardless of whether taking Chinese or Western medicine, if problems arise, it is best to inform the doctor.
Source: http:/ / www. libertytimes. com. ……08/ new/ may/ 5/ today- life5. htm
2009/01/02 01:04