Questionnaire Survey on Kampo Medicines for Patients Under 19 Years Old / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

To investigate the difficulties of taking Japanese traditional (Kampo) medicines, questionnaires were filled out by patients under 19 years old or their families. Forty-six questionnaires were valid for analysis. The mean age of the patients was 9.7 &qlusmn; 5.3 years old (2 to 19 years old) and the percentage of male patients was high (65%). They took extract granules (n = 40) or decoction (n = 6) and most of the patients (n = 38, 83%) took medicines twice a day. Though 69% of patients under 5 years old needed direct assistance from their family to take medicines, none of over 6 years of age needed any help except to dissolve medicines in hot water, while notably 77% of the patients over 13 years old took their medicines un-aided. It was found that patients' families gave them the concrete explanations on the necessity of their medicines regardless of patients' age, so it is important for pharmacist to guide not only families but also patients themselves. Furthermore, pharmacists should understand the taste and the constituent crude drugs of Kampo medicines to improve patients' adherence in taking medicines.