Patient H.H.Q, born in 1998, residing in Long Biên, Hà Nội, was admitted to the hospital in a state of fatigue, drowsiness, emaciated physical condition, unable to eat or drink, frequent vomiting, and mouth ulcers. The test results upon admission were: Creatinin was 2018 times higher than the highest value, urea index was 86.2 times higher than the highest value of a normal person.
Patient Q was diagnosed with hyperuremia, stage 5 chronic kidney disease, requiring emergency hemodialysis treatment. After a period of intensive treatment, patient Q's kidney functions gradually returned to a stable state, and their health improved, although the patient still remained emaciated and needed to be monitored and their physical condition improved. After discharge, patient Q was scheduled for regular hemodialysis to maintain their life after nearly 10 days of intensive treatment.
Patient Q's family shared that in 2019, the patient was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease, and the doctor advised them to take medication at home and follow up regularly to preserve kidney function and prevent the disease from progressing. However, in the past six months, due to being advised by family members to use traditional medicine, the patient stopped taking Western medication and failed to follow up regularly.
According to patient Q's family, after the first time using herbal medicine, the patient went for a check-up, and the test results were still normal, leading the family to believe that the disease could be cured, and they continued to purchase medication for the patient to take. However, the patient began to experience abnormal white tongue, mouth pain, and difficulty swallowing. Believing it was due to an allergic reaction, the family stopped the medication at three different places, but the patient's condition did not improve and instead worsened, with urea and creatinine levels rising rapidly until the patient's physical condition became severely weakened, and the family was forced to rush the patient to Đức Giang Multidisciplinary Hospital for emergency treatment.
Dr. Nguyễn Văn Tuyên, Head of the Nephrology Department, Đức Giang Multidisciplinary Hospital, stated that over the past year, the department has received many cases of severe kidney disease, with kidney damage occurring on top of chronic kidney disease, related to the use of traditional medicine.
The symptoms of kidney function decline in early stages often lack specific characteristics, making it easy for patients to overlook. As a result, many cases of kidney disease go undetected and untreated, leading to late-stage treatment and the development of life-threatening complications, even potentially resulting in death.
Currently, there is no scientific research that proves the effectiveness of herbal medicine in treating kidney disease. Furthermore, on patients with chronic kidney disease, kidney function is already compromised, and the use of active ingredients from traditional medicine, even in everyday food, requires caution to avoid further deterioration of kidney function.
