RESUMO
Kampo formulae are selected according to a patient's symptoms. In certain cases the decoctions are modified with additional herbs to provide a suitable treatment. Knowledge of herbs and formulae used clinically in Kampo medicine is essential; however there is a lack of knowledge on how extensively certain herbs are applied. We have analyzed our Kampo outpatient clinic prescriptions for September 2004. The 20 most frequently applied formulae accounted for 60% of all prescriptions. Also, we analyzed our patients' medical backgrounds in relation to the most frequently used 20 prescriptions in September 2004, and the distribution of our patients for each prescription. The distribution of patients for each prescription differed significantly from the distribution of all patients. As a last point, we looked at which herbs were most frequently added to prescriptions. The most frequently added herb was Astragali Radix, followed by Coicis Semen and Aconiti Tuber. We consider this to be significant information for Kampo physicians and pharmacists.