Abstract
BackgroundLarge-scale pharmaco-epidemiological studies of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for treatment of urticaria are few, even though clinical trials showed some CHM are effective. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequencies and patterns of CHM prescriptions for urticaria by analysing the population-based CHM database in Taiwan.MethodsThis study was linked to and processed through the complete traditional CHM database of the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan during 2009. We calculated the frequencies and patterns of CHM prescriptions used for treatment of urticaria, of which the diagnosis was defined as the single ICD-9 Code of 708. Frequent itemset mining, as applied to data mining, was used to analyse co-prescription of CHM for patients with urticaria.ResultsThere were 37,386 subjects who visited traditional Chinese Medicine clinics for urticaria in Taiwan during 2009 and received a total of 95,765 CHM prescriptions. Subjects between 18 and 35 years of age comprised the largest number of those treated (32.76%). In addition, women used CHM for urticaria more frequently than men (female:male = 1.94:1). There was an average of 5.54 items prescribed in the form of either individual Chinese herbs or a formula in a single CHM prescription for urticaria. Bai-Xian-Pi (Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz) was the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herb while Xiao-Feng San was the most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal formula. The most commonly prescribed CHM drug combination was Xiao-Feng San plus Bai-Xian-Pi while the most commonly prescribed triple drug combination was Xiao-Feng San, Bai-Xian-Pi, and Di-Fu Zi (Kochia scoparia).ConclusionsIn view of the popularity of CHM such as Xiao-Feng San prescribed for the wind-heat pattern of urticaria in this study, a large-scale, randomized clinical trial is warranted to research their efficacy and safety.
Highlights
Large-scale pharmaco-epidemiological studies of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for treatment of urticaria are few, even though clinical trials showed some CHM are effective
Urticaria is defined as a kind of skin rash notable for pale red, itchy bumps caused by allergic reactions to internal and external agents
Almost two thirds of the patients treated for urticaria with CHM were between 18 and 50 years of age (Table 1)
Summary
Large-scale pharmaco-epidemiological studies of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for treatment of urticaria are few, even though clinical trials showed some CHM are effective. Urticaria is defined as a kind of skin rash notable for pale red, itchy bumps caused by allergic reactions to internal and external agents. The majority of cases (> 80%) have an unknown cause, which is called chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). CIU patients report quality of life impairment similar to patients who have cardiac disease and other chronic skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. These patients who did not use immunosuppressants and who attended a university clinic had annual health care costs of more than US $2,000 [3]
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