Abstract
Objectives: To analyze the prescription frequency of various herbs as either individual or major herbs (in terms of dosage) and their usage patterns in the treatment of different diseases for standardization of traditional Korean medicine. Methods: We analyzed the prescription database of patients at the Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital from the date of establishment of the hospital to February 2013. The complete prescription data were extracted from the electronic medical records of patients, and the prescription frequencies of individual herbs, particularly, of major herbs, were analyzed in terms of gender, age, and international classification of diseases (ICD) code. Results: The prescription frequency of individual herbs based on age and gender showed a similar pattern. Herbal mixtures were also distributed in a similar manner. The use of some herbs differed according to age and gender (Table 1.). The herbs that were used at high frequencies for a given ICD code had similar usage patterns in different categories. However, some major herbs in the "Jun (King)" category were used uniquely for a given ICD code (Table 2.). There was significant difference between male and female on ICD code E and N, but the other ICD codes had small differences. The ratio of herbal medicine by gender showed different usage patterns in each gender. Conclusions: The findings of our study provide fundamental data that reflect the real clinical conditions in South Korea, and therefore, can contribute to the standardization of TKM.
