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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (June 12) investigating a case of liver failure.
The female patient aged 44, with good past health, presented with dyspepsia (digestive discomfort) and symptoms of jaundice from late April to early May and consulted a private doctor and attended a private hospital in early May. She was found to have deranged liver function by the private hospital. Her symptoms persisted and her condition deteriorated and she was referred to Queen Mary Hospital on May 22 for further management.
She subsequently developed ascites and confusion and the clinical diagnosis was hepatitis with unknown aetiology. She is now in critical condition.
According to the attending physician of the Hospital Authority and the patient's relative, the patient consumed two types of herbal tea from April to May which were purchased from a shop in Kwai Chung, and no remnants were left for testing. As the patient is now unconscious, she could not provide further information, including the dosage and consumption pattern.
The patient's relative also purchased some herbal teas from the same shop in late May and the sample of one of these herbal teas submitted was found to be adulterated with Western drug ingredients, namely paracetamol and chlorpheniramine, upon testing by the Government Laboratory (GL). Follow-up investigations by the DH and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) as well as the GL's testing on samples of the same type of herbal tea so far have yet to detect any abnormalities and adulteration.
"With the information available at this stage, the causal relationship between the patient's consumption of herbal teas and her clinical condition cannot be established at this juncture," a spokesman for the DH said.
Investigations are ongoing. The FEHD has also been informed for corresponding follow-up.
"Paracetamol is a painkiller and can cause liver damage when taken in high doses. Chlorpheniramine is commonly used for treating runny nose and allergy and its side-effects include drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, nausea and constipation," the spokesman explained.
The DH advised members of the public to consult healthcare professionals if feeling unwell and not to self-medicate without seeking medical advice.
Ends/Friday, June 12, 2015
Issued at HKT 22:24
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