Pradhan Sameer L, Pradhan Priya S
Department of Anaesthesiology, Dr. L. H. Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Indian J Anaesth. 2011 Jul;55(4):334-9. doi: 10.4103/0019-5049.84832.
The use of herbal medicines has increased dramatically over the past few years. The United States alone noted a 380% increase in the consumption of these products. Although the common practice of taking over-the-counter herbal soups, herbal teas and other such prepacked preparations was not associated with adverse events at large, still, some herbs are known to cause problems, especially when large doses are taken. The American Society of Anaesthesiologist (ASA) has taken a conservative stance and recommended that it is prudent to stop these products at least 2-3 weeks prior to anaesthesia and surgery. This advice may be difficult to implement as most preoperative evaluations occur only a few days prior to surgery. Some of the Ayurvedic preparations have shown to improve the patient outcome when taken during the perioperative period. Hence, the conservative stance by ASA may not always benefit the patient. More scientific studies are needed to have more targeted recommendations. This article puts forward the facts that need to be addressed by researchers in the future.
在过去几年中，草药的使用急剧增加。仅美国就指出这些产品的消费量增长了380%。虽然服用非处方草药汤、花草茶和其他此类预包装制剂的常见做法总体上与不良事件无关，但仍有一些草药已知会引发问题，尤其是大剂量服用时。美国麻醉医师协会（ASA）采取了保守立场，建议在麻醉和手术前至少2至3周停用这些产品。这条建议可能难以实施，因为大多数术前评估仅在手术前几天进行。一些阿育吠陀制剂在围手术期服用时已显示能改善患者预后。因此，ASA的保守立场可能并不总是对患者有益。需要更多科学研究来提出更有针对性的建议。本文提出了未来研究人员需要解决的问题。
