The negative impact of herbal medications in perioperative patient care
In the July 11, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association researchers published a study that some popular herbal medicines can be dangerous and even life threatening for patients who are undergoing surgery. They note that patients should not take certain herbal medications before an operation.
The researchers analyzed existing studies, case reports and reviews about the safety of eight commonly used herbal medicines (echinacea, ephedra, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, kava, St. John's Wart and valerian). Researchers found that many patients do not tell their doctors about their herbal usage, largely because of the patient-held belief that physicians are not knowledgeable about herbal medications, and patients' fear of admitting their use of unconventional therapies to physicians.
The researchers found that complications can arise from certain herbs during surgery. Direct effects include bleeding from garlic, ginkgo, and ginseng; cardiovascular instability from ephedra; and hypoglycemia from ginseng.
The researchers concluded that doctors should explicitly obtain and document a history of herbal medication use. Physicians should be familiar with the potential perioperative effects of the more commonly used herbal medications to stop, identify and care for potentially serious complications associated with their use.
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