Purpose: To determine the incidence and nature of herbal medicine use among patients in a busy Canadian surgical day care unit.
Methods: We undertook a prospective survey of 575 patients attending our surgical day care unit. The questionnaire inquired as to basic demographics, herbal medicine use, the name and number of herbal medicines used, reason, whether it was self prescribed or not, and if the patient's family physician was aware of the use. In the second part of the study, 44 anesthesiologists were asked to answer a questionnaire of 27 yes/no questions to determine their knowledge of herbal medicines.
Results: Four hundred eighty-five of 575 patients completed the questionnaire (84%). Thirty-four percent of patients surveyed in our unit responded affirmatively to herbal medicine use. Of these, 39% took them on a daily basis. Forty-five different identifiable herbs were being taken in total, with echinacea being the most common. Less than half of the patients told their family physicians that they were using herbal medicines and only one-third of patients were taking them on the advice of their physician. In the assessment of anesthesiologists' knowledge of herbal medicine, only 32% of the questions were answered correctly.
Conclusion: The incidence of herbal medicine ingestion by patients coming to our unit was higher than previously reported. A large variety of preparations were being taken, many without the knowledge of the patient's family physician. The basic knowledge of anesthesiologists with respect to herbal medicine is limited.