Herbals & surgery
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Herbal medicine use "is common among surgical patients and is consistent with the substantial increase in the use of alternative medical therapies," study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons says. A survey conducted by Prasad Adusumilli, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, et al., found that among patients undergoing elective surgery, 57% had used herbal medicine, 38% in the past two years, with one in six continuing herbal medicine use during the month of surgery. Doctors' awareness of patients' herbal medicine use "is important to prevent, recognize and treat potential problems that may arise from herbal medications taken alone or in conjunction with conventional medications during the perioperative period," the study states...