Use of herbal medicines by surgical outpatients in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

Herbal medications have been used worldwide before the time of the Egyptians. The Greeks, medical doctors, apothecaries and traditional healers all used herbal medicines throughout the ages. There is today an increase in the use of alternative therapies worldwide. In 1993 Australian alternative medicine use was 48.5 percent in the population. In 1997 use in the USA population was estimated at 42.1 percent, an increase from 33.8 percent in 1990. Traditionally in the Caribbean home remedies based on herbs have prominence among alternative therapies. In the media, well-known celebrities advocate the use of alternative therapies while the conventional medical fraternity argues it. The prevalence of alternative medication use by surgical patients is unfortunately only sparsely researched in the Caribbean. Our studies looked at adult surgical clinic patients in Trinidad. Over 70 percent of the patients interviewed used some form of herbal therapy (herbal medicines, bush medicine, bush tea). Some common herbs used by patients in our study were garlic, ginseng and gingko, which are known to affect clotting and may put the surgical patient at risk for bleeding. Patients also were using prescription medication and few informed their physician of their concurrent use. Various herbal medicines are known to have effects on the immune system, clotting, hepatic function, neurological status and the cardiovascular system. These changes may impact on the surgical patient, therefore their surgeons and anaesthetists need to ask specifically about herbal drug use to prevent unknown drug interaction and risk to patients