Proprietary Chinese Medicine Found Containing Western Drug Ingredients

The Department of Health (DH) (February 5) urged members of the public not to buy or use a proprietary Chinese medicine called 消可舒平降糖寧膠囊 (Xiaokeshuping Jiangtangning Jiaonang) which was found to have contained undeclared western drug ingredients that may cause side effects.

A DH spokesman said the department obtained samples of the product for investigation after the Hospital Authority reported a case in which a 79-year-old woman who had consumed the product was admitted to United Christian Hospital last October because of hypoglycaemic attack (low blood sugar level). She had recovered and been discharged from hospital. She obtained the product from the Mainland.

The spokesman said the department has no record of the product having been imported in to Hong Kong for sale.

Upon laboratory analysis, the product was found to have contained western drug ingredients of phenformin (苯乙雙胍), rosiglitazone (羅格列酮) and glibenclamide (格列本).

Phenformin was used previously for the management of diabetes. However, phenformin was associated with high incidence of lactic acidosis (buildup of lactic acid in the blood) which could be fatal. The drug was banned in Hong Kong in 1985.

Rosiglitazone and glibenclamide are western drug ingredients used for the management of diabetes which should be used under medical supervision. The known side-effects of rosiglitazone are headache, dizziness, and lower limb oedema (excessive accumulation of fluid) and those of glibenclamide are nausea and gastro-intestinal upset. Rosiglitazone should not be used in those with a history of heart failure.

Products containing these drug ingredients are Third Schedule poisons under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, i.e. they can only be sold on a doctor's prescription and under supervision by a pharmacist.

As a precautionary measure, members of the public who have been using the product should seek advice from their doctors as soon as possible.

"Patients with diabetes should consult medical professionals for appropriate advice or medication," the spokesman added.

Anyone who is in possession of the product should dispose of it or submit it to the Pharmaceutical Service of DH at 3/F, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon during office hours.