Chinese drug Lianhua Qingwen not to be taken without doctor’s OK

MANILA, Philippines — The Makati Medical Center’s therapeutics and medication safety committee (TMSC) has said that the Chinese drug, Lianhua Qingwen (LQ), should not be taken without a doctor’s prescription to ease new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) symptoms, warning that it may do more harm than good.

In an internal memorandum dated Aug. 19, a copy of which was obtained on Sunday, the hospital committee said patients with hypertension, irregular heartbeat and heart disease should use LQ “with caution.”

It added that the Chinese drug should be taken only under the supervision of a licensed physician by those with serious chronic diseases such as liver disease, diabetes mellitus, and thyroid and kidney ailments.

Vulnerable groups

The warning also applied to vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, the elderly, or those diagnosed with spleen deficiency.
The memo was signed by TMSC chair Dr. Lourdes Dorion-Diaz and noted by hospital medical director Dr. Saturnino Javier.

According to the hospital, LQ contains “ma huang,” a weed from which ephedrine is extracted.

Used to treat symptoms of low blood pressure during anesthesia, ephedrine is considered a dangerous drug under the law and may be prescribed only by a physician with an S2 license issued by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.“As some of the other components of LQ may be unfamiliar, health-care professionals are advised to be vigilant for possible drug interaction with any of its ingredients,” it said.

The memo listed some of the adverse effects of LQ as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rashes, itching, dry mouth and dizziness.

The TMSC issued the memo after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved LQ as a traditional Chinese medicine to “help remove heat toxin invasion of the lungs, including symptoms, such as fever, aversion to cold, muscle soreness, stuffy and runny nose.”

However, the FDA reiterated that LQ was not a cure for COVID-19, despite the Chinese Embassy’s claim that it had been approved for mild and moderate cases in China.