The Department of Health today (August 3) urged members of the public not to buy or take a Chinese herbal preparation labelled "Beijing Jiannan Zhongyi Hospital Zhongyao Pei Fang Ke Li" (北京建南中醫醫院中藥配方顆粒), as the product was found to contain Western drug ingredients that might cause serious side effects.
A spokesman for the department said the product was discovered through a 40-year-old man who was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with acute hepatitis in July. Investigations found that he bought the medicine on the Mainland and had been taking it for gouty arthritis, a disease caused by excessive urates accumulated in the bloodstream and joints.
The man has recovered and has been discharged from hospital. His acute hepatitis was unrelated to the product.
However, laboratory tests on the product found that it contained five Western drug ingredients, namely, phenacetin (非那西丁), aminopyrine (氨基比林), ibuprofen (布洛芬), diclofenac (雙氯芬酸) and indomethacin (吲哚美辛), which may cause gastrointestinal disturbances or blood-related diseases.
The spokesman said that according tp the Department of Health's records, the product concerned was not registered under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance in Hong Kong. The department also had no record of the product having been imported into Hong Kong for sale.
He said that members of the public who have obtained the product should immediately stop using it and seek medical advice if they feel unwell.
"People with gouty arthritis should consult medical professionals for appropriate advice or treatment," he said.
The spokesman explained that ibuprofen, diclofenac and indomethacin were all pain killers, but they could cause gastrointestinal disturbances such as gastric pain, nausea, vomiting, peptic ulcer and bleeding.
Phenacetin and aminopyrine were used previously as pain killers, but were banned in Hong Kong in 1983 and 1984 respectively due to their serious side-effects such as haemolytic anaemia (a disease relating to the destruction of red blood cells) and agranulocytosis (a disorder in which there is a severe acute deficiency of certain white blood cells.)
Anyone who is in possession of the product concerned should dispose of it or submit it to the Pharmaceutical Service of the Department of Health at 3/F, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon during office hours.
Reprinted from HKSAR Government web page:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200608/03/P200608030168.htm