Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, No.2, Sec. W., Jiapu Rd, Puzi City, Chiayi County, 61363, Taiwan.
Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Research Center, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, No.2, Sec. W., Jiapu Rd, Puzi City, Chiayi County, 61363, Taiwan.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018 Jun 22;18(1):191. doi: 10.1186/s12906-018-2261-2.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used by Chinese patients and in many other countries worldwide. However, epidemiological reports and prescription patterns on children are few.
A cohort of 178,617 children aged 18 and under from one million randomly sampled cases of the National Health Insurance Research Database was analyzed for TCM prescription patterns. SAS 9.1 was applied and descriptive medicine utilization patterns were presented.
The cohort included 112,889 children treated by TCM, with adolescents (12- to 18-year-olds) as the largest group. In the children's TCM outpatient visits, Chinese herbal remedies were the main treatment. The top three categories of diseases treated with Chinese herbal remedies were respiratory system; symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions; and digestive system. The top three categories using acupuncture were: injury and poisoning, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, and diseases of the respiratory system. Of the top ten herbal medicines prescribed by TCM physicians, the top nine herbal formulae and the top ten single herbs were associated with diseases of the respiratory system.
This study identified patterns of TCM prescriptions for children and common disease categories treated with TCM. The results provide a useful reference for health policy makers and for those who consider the usage of TCM for children.
中医药已被中国患者和世界许多其他国家使用。然而，关于儿童的流行病学报告和处方模式却很少。
从 100 万例随机抽样的全民健康保险研究数据库中分析了 178617 名 18 岁以下儿童的中医药处方模式。采用 SAS 9.1 进行分析，呈现描述性的医学利用模式。
该队列包括 112889 名接受中医药治疗的儿童，青少年（12-18 岁）是最大的群体。在儿童的中医药门诊就诊中，中草药是主要的治疗方法。用中草药治疗的前三大类疾病是呼吸系统；症状、体征和定义不清的病症；以及消化系统。使用针灸的前三大类是：损伤和中毒、肌肉骨骼系统和结缔组织疾病以及呼吸系统疾病。在中医医师开的十大草药中，排名前九的草药方剂和排名前十的单味草药与呼吸系统疾病有关。
本研究确定了儿童中医药处方模式和中医药治疗的常见疾病类别。研究结果为卫生政策制定者和考虑儿童使用中医药的人提供了有用的参考。
