COMPARISON OF RISKS FOR ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS BETWEEN TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINES AND WESTERN MEDICINES: A REVIEW OF CHINESE-LANGUAGE LITERATURES

Authors

  • Yan Song University of Macau
  • Zhen Ruan University of Macau
  • Shi Yin University of Macau
  • Ying Bian University of Macau

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21010/ajtcam.v12i5.8

Keywords:

Drug safety, Adverse drug reaction, Traditional Chinese medicines, Complementary medicines, Western medicines

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to compare the risks for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) between traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and Western medicines (WMs). Materials and Methods: A comprehensive review of ADR cases reported in the Chinese-language literatures from January 2006 to December 2011 was conducted to identify the frequency, severity and hazard of ADRs associated with TCMs and WMs. Sort ratio (SR) was employed to compare the ranking of TCMs and WMs. SR>1 when WMs ranked higher than TCMs. For group comparisons, nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used whenever possible. Results: A total of 5097 cases were induced by 212 TCMs and 908 WMs according to 3842 reports in the final full-text analysis. In the comparisons for the entire study group, as well as groups by pharmacology category and administration route, most WMs ranked higher than TCMs in occurring frequency, severity and hazard caused by ADRs. The results showed the adverse effects from Chinese medicines were comparatively rare and the risks caused by them were milder than by western medicine-related ADRs. Conclusion: This study concluded by indicating that TCMs were safe in clinical practice compared with WMs, though not risk free. Improvements in quality control and in the training and regulation of practitioners could substantially reduce the already low incidence of problems involving TCMs.

Downloads

Published

2015-07-31

How to Cite

Song, Y., Ruan, Z., Yin, S., & Bian, Y. (2015). COMPARISON OF RISKS FOR ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS BETWEEN TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINES AND WESTERN MEDICINES: A REVIEW OF CHINESE-LANGUAGE LITERATURES. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 12(5), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.21010/ajtcam.v12i5.8

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 5 (2015)

Section

Review

License

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution CC.

This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials. View License Deed | View Legal Code Authors can also self-archive their manuscripts immediately and enable public access from their institution's repository. This is the version that has been accepted for publication and which typically includes author-incorporated changes suggested during submission, peer review and in editor-author communications.