Traditional Chinese medicine treatments for upper respiratory tract infections/common colds in Taiwan

Abstract

Introduction: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat upper respiratory tract infections/common colds (URTIs) in Asian countries for over 2000 years. However, Chinese medicine doctors (CMDs) follow the traditional treatment rules to select or administer these diverse Chinese medicine formulae. The main purpose of our study was to explore data on the frequency of medication and medication habits by CMDs for the treatment of URTIs with Chinese herbs and Chinese medicine formulae. Methods: The TCM treatments for patients consulting with an URTIs were analyzed from the National Health Insurance Research Database using the appropriate codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnoses for Taiwan in 2009. A data mining and association rules, were used to analyze co-prescriptions of TCM for patients with URTIs. Results: For 472,005 patients who sought the treatment of URTIs, a total of 46,805 patients with URTIs received TCM treatments, of these 29,052 patients sought both TCM and Western medication treatments. Of the URTIs patients who had received a TCM treatment, 79% presented with an acute common cold, 9% had influenza, and 9% had acute upper respiratory infections. Furthermore, 53.89% of the sample were aged between 20 and 49 years, and 62.84% were women, 3.56% of the patients used Yin-Qiao-San and 2.76% used Jie-Geng. Yin-Qiao-San and Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang were the most commonly combinations of prescriptions for patients with URTIs. Conclusions: The patients experiencing URTIs were more likely to request TCM treatment if their symptoms were mild and they were women. The Chinese medicine doctors treating URTIs generally followed TCM theory. A coding system for TCM diagnostic classifications could improve evaluations of TCM treatments.

Study on the Rationality for Antiviral Activity of Flos Lonicerae Japonicae-Fructus Forsythiae Herb Couple Preparations Improved by Chito-Oligosaccharide via Integral Pharmacokinetics

“…[ 2 ]. The two herbs together (the ratio of FLJ:FF usually reached 1:1 showed maximum pharmacological effects [ 3 ]) in couples, named Yaodui in China, are the basic components of Chinese herbal preparations, such as Shuang-Huang-Lian oral liquid, Qin-Re-Jie-Du oral liquid, Fufang Qin-Lan oral liquid, and Yin-Qiao-Jie-Du tablet, which are used for treating acute upper respiratory tract infections by influenza [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Previously, we found that the chito-oligosaccharide (COS) ( Figure 1 ), a promising excipient for absorption enhancement based on tight junctions of gastrointestinal drug [ 11 ], could enhance intestinal absorption of forsythoside A and chlorogenic acid, both in vitro and in vivo, and improve the antiviral activity (H1N1 virus) of FLJ-FF herb couple preparations significantly via in vitro influenza virus propagated in MDCK cells, but few studies have illustrated why the antiviral effect (H1N1 virus) can be improved by COS [ 12 ].…”

Chemistry and pharmacology of the herb pair Flos Lonicerae japonicae-Forsythiae fructus

“…Yinqiao San, which contains FLJ and FF with a crude weight ratio of 1:1, is used for detoxification and relieving internal heat and fever [ 7 ]. Nowadays, the various available dosage forms of FLJ-FF herb pair, such as capsules, powder, oral decoctions, and granules, are mainly indicated for cold, fever, and even upper respiratory tract infection [ 8 ]. The most familiar ones are Vc Yinqiao tablet and Shuanghuanglian oral decoction [ 9 ].…”

Analysis of the Medical Market Share of Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) in Taiwan Using National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)

“…Upper respiratory infection In 2009, 9.92% of upper respiratory infection(including influenza) patients used TEAM 72) Rhinosinusitis In 2000∼2011, 29% of newly diagnosed choronic rhinosinustis patients used TEAM 73) Allergic rhinitis In 2002, 2.4% of patients used western medicine, 1.4% of patients used TEAM to treat allergic rhinitis 74) In 2009∼2010, 80.5% used only western medicine, 12.73% used only TEAM, 6.77% used western medicine and TEAM in combination to treat allergic rhinitis 75) In 2009, 80.2% used only western medicine, 12.93% used only TEAM, 6.82% used western medicine and TEAM in combination to treat allergic rhinitis 76) In 2002∼2010, 63.11% of newly diagnosed child allergic rhinitis patients used TEAM 77) Asthma In 1997∼2008, 85.7% of newly diagnosed adult asthma patients used TEAM 78) In 1997∼2009, Herbal medicine was prescribed at 35.28% of total visits in school age (6∼18 years old) 79) In 2002∼2010, 57.95% of child asthma patients used TEAM 80) In 2000∼2011, Despite the gradual increase in asthma patients, the use of TEAM decreased from 38.58% to 29.26% 81) In 2005∼2010, 18.7∼23.2% of child asthma patients used TEAM 82) Diseases of the digestive system (8.30%) . 뿐만 아니라 국민건강보험제도 등 의료제도적 94) In 1997∼2011, 14.28% of the patients visited the TEAM clinic for SLE treatment 95) Diseases of the genitourinary system (16.49%) Menopausal syndrome In 1997∼2004, 64.9% of 45∼55 year old women had experience using TEAM 96) In 2002, 75.1% of patients diagnosed with menopausal syndrome had experience using TEAM 97) Infertility In 2000∼2011, 96.17% of patients diagnosed with infertility had experience using TEAM 98) Renal 104) *In parentheses, frequency of use of TEAM for Western medicine use by ICD-9 disease classification.…”