Death due to treating hepatitis B with herbal medicine of unknown origin

After a period of treating hepatitis B with traditional medicine, the patient's liver function only reached 13.6%, he fell into a deep coma and did not survive.

A 47-year-old female patient BTH in Lac Son, Hoa Binh was hospitalized with severe liver failure on the basis of hepatitis B virus cirrhosis accompanied by pneumonia and a very high risk of hepatic coma, abdominal distension, jaundice, and yellow eyes.

Vietnamese traditional medicine is very good if used properly, but if you do not know how to use it or use poor quality medicine of unknown origin, it will cause unpredictable consequences.

For a long time, the patient did not go for a health check-up so he did not know he had hepatitis B virus. Around August 2024, the patient had a gradually increasing abdominal distension, and when he went for a check-up, he discovered he had hepatitis B and had developed cirrhosis.

However, the patient did not take the medicine prescribed by the doctor but bought herbal medicine of unknown origin to treat the disease. After taking the herbal medicine for 10 days, the patient began to experience jaundice, increasing yellowing of the eyes, fatigue, poor appetite, and a bloated abdomen.

On September 4, 2024, the patient was admitted to a local medical facility for treatment with cirrhosis and ascites, liver function was 15%, so abdominal fluid was drained.

On September 16, 2024, the patient was transferred to the Hepatitis Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in a very serious condition with symptoms: severe liver failure on the basis of hepatitis B cirrhosis accompanied by pneumonia, liver enzymes increased more than 11 times, jaundice and yellow eyes were obvious. Liver function only reached 13.6% and there was a very high risk of hepatic coma.

After 2 weeks of treatment, the patient had a disturbance of consciousness and was lethargic, so he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and had to be placed on a ventilator. However, the patient did not respond to the treatment and his condition became more critical. The family requested that the patient be transferred to home care.

Doctor Nguyen Quang Huy, Department of Hepatitis, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said that the initial cause of cirrhosis was due to the patient having hepatitis B but not being treated, so the disease progressed to cirrhosis with ascites. At this stage, the patient made another mistake of taking herbal medicine to treat the disease. This led to severe acute liver failure.

Similar to patient BTH but luckier, patient BTQ, 34 years old, also in Hoa Binh, did not know when she contracted hepatitis B. In August 2023, she felt tired and had a poor appetite, so she went for a health check and discovered she had hepatitis B.

Ms. Q. was prescribed antiviral medication by her doctor on a regular basis. After four months of taking the medication, she stopped taking it on her own and switched to using Solanum procumbens, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, and An xoa to detoxify her liver. She carefully researched the effects of the plants online, so Ms. Q. felt secure in using them.

By the end of September 2024, Ms. Q. appeared to be tired, had poor appetite, and had unusual jaundice. She was admitted to a hospital near her home with a diagnosis of acute liver failure on the basis of hepatitis B. After 5 days of treatment, the disease did not improve, so she was transferred to the Hepatitis Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, with symptoms of jaundice and yellow eyes increasing more than 20 times, acute liver failure, liver function reaching 49%, and liver enzyme index increasing 25 times higher than normal.

After 3 weeks of treatment, patient Q.'s liver failure condition has improved. According to Dr. Nguyen Quang Huy, Ms. Q. is a lucky case.

Doctor Huy recommends that if people want to know if they have hepatitis B or not, they can go to local medical facilities near their homes such as district hospitals, county hospitals, preventive medicine centers, vaccine centers, provincial hospitals, etc., or the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases to do an HBsA test.

If HBsAg is positive, it means you have hepatitis B. You need to have your condition checked at an infectious disease specialist or hepatobiliary specialist regularly as scheduled by your doctor.

Usually, people with chronic hepatitis B are healthy and have no symptoms. Therefore, patients are often subjective and the disease will progress without knowing.

Therefore, people with hepatitis B need to follow the regular check-up schedule as scheduled by a specialist. This is extremely important, helping patients discuss their condition with their doctor, as well as promptly detect the stage of the disease for treatment, preventing complications such as liver failure, cirrhosis, and liver cancer from occurring.

Currently, the specific treatment for hepatitis B is antiviral drugs that help inhibit the hepatitis B virus. There are many different antiviral drugs, suitable for each specific patient, so you need to talk to your doctor to get the best treatment method...

Also facing trouble due to treating hepatitis B with herbal medicine of unknown origin, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases has just received two male patients with liver failure related to taking herbal medicine of unknown origin.

The first patient is Mr. NND, 64 years old in Bac Giang . Mr. D. discovered hepatitis B 30 years ago. For the past 3 years, he has been treated with antiviral drugs. For the past 5 months, he has been taking traditional medicine to treat hepatitis B.

However, over the past month, Mr. D. has been feeling tired and his jaundice has gradually increased. Mr. D. went to a medical facility for treatment and was discharged after 1 week.

When he returned home, Mr. D. felt more tired, had a poor appetite, urinated less, had dark yellow stools, and had constipation. His family took him to the hospital for treatment. A day later, Mr. D. was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Mr. D. was admitted to the hospital with dark yellow skin and eyes, diagnosed with acute liver failure - cirrhosis - chronic hepatitis B. Doctors explained to the patient's family about his condition, the prognosis was very serious, and the risk of hepatic coma.

The second patient is Mr. TNT, 64 years old from Hung Yen. The patient has no chronic diseases, no hepatitis B, C, and does not drink alcohol.

For the past 3 years, Mr. T. has been taking traditional Chinese medicine (about 2 times a year). About 3 weeks before being admitted to the hospital, the patient took traditional Chinese medicine for 10 days to treat gallstones. After taking the medicine, the patient felt tired and had a poor appetite.

The patient was hospitalized for 2 weeks for treatment but after being discharged, he felt tired again. His family took him to the Hepatitis Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment. The patient was diagnosed with toxic hepatitis, including acute hepatitis.

Doctor CKII Nguyen Nguyen Huyen, Head of the Examination Department at Kim Chung facility, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, analyzed that liver failure means that the liver's functions have been impaired, unable to ensure normal functions. When the liver's functions are impaired, the body will be affected.

For example, with hepatic encephalopathy, the patient may experience a coma due to the liver, and then the patient may develop hepatorenal syndrome, which is renal failure due to the liver. If the liver failure is too severe, the mortality rate can be as high as 50 to 70%.

Toxic hepatitis is hepatitis caused by toxins, which can be alcohol, drugs, or chemicals...

When these toxins enter the body, they destroy liver cells, gradually impairing liver function. The liver cannot ensure normal functions, leading to liver failure, multiple organ failure such as hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome.

At that time, the patient may fall into hepatic coma, with a high mortality rate. To avoid unfortunate situations that may occur, Dr. Nguyen Nguyen Huyen recommends that patients with hepatitis B virus who are being treated must strictly adhere to antiviral drugs and not stop taking the drug unless directed by a doctor.

Second, when people take any medicine, they must clearly understand its origin. They must not take medicine or products of unknown origin.

If you have accidentally taken drugs of unknown origin and experience symptoms of fatigue, discomfort, or yellow urine, you must immediately go to the nearest medical facility for timely diagnosis and treatment.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tu-vong-vi-chua-viem-gan-b-bang-thuoc-nam-khong-ro-nguon-goc-d227652.html