Tolerance of and compliance with traditional drug therapy among patients in a hospital for Chinese medicine in Germany

There is little knowledge as to tolerance of and compliance with traditional Chinese drug treatment among Western patients. We surveyed 168 consecutive in-patients of a hospital for traditional Chinese medicine in Germany to collect data on these issues. Of the 145 patients responding (86.3% response rate) 77 (53.1%) reported having experienced at least one side effect (mainly gastrointestinal symptoms and temporary deterioration of symptoms) attributable to traditional Chinese drug treatment. 86 (59.5%) and 66 patients (45.5%), respectively, did not like the taste and the smell of the preparations, but only 7 reported deviations from the prescribed schedule. Not one patient considered that he would be unwilling to continue medication if prescribed. The results of this survey indicate that an appreciable proportion of Western patients experience gastrointestinal side effects from traditional Chinese drug treatment. Due to the highly selected patient sample (all patients had opted for treatment in this hospital specializing in traditional Chinese medicine) the results relating to compliance have to be interpreted cautiously. Given its popularity and increasing use, further research on safety of and compliance with traditional Chinese drug treatment is clearly warranted.