Traditional Chinese medicine for idiopathic precocious puberty: A hospital-based retrospective observational study

Objectives: To characterize the application of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) among children with idiopathic precocious puberty (IPP). Design and setting: This study examined data sets from patients diagnosed with IPP at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 2010 and 2012. The patients were allocated into three groups according their voluntary choice of treatment modalities: TCM users (received TCM treatment only), Western medicine (WM) users (received WM treatment only), and "no treatment" group (received no medical treatment at all). Main outcome measures: The demographic data of children with IPP were characterized. The prescription patterns and frequencies of TCM for IPP patients were analyzed. The patients' bone maturation rates and the change of predicted height after different approaches were measured as outcomes. Results: There were 3390 patients enrolled in the study. Zhi-Bai-Di-Huang-Wan (70.62%) was the most common herbal formula and Mai-Ya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus) (51.58%) was the most common single herb prescribed for IPP in all of the 2784 prescriptions. The bone maturation rates of TCM users (0.95. ±. 0.20) and WM users (0.69. ±. 0.05) were both decelerated but the "no treatment" group had an accelerated bone maturation rate of 1.33. ±. 0.04. TCM and WM users also had higher predicted height after treatment (1.15. ±. 1.19. cm versus 1.73. ±. 0.29. cm), while the "no treatment" group had a decreased predicted height (-0.52. ±. 0.23. cm). Conclusions: Our study revealed a comprehensive list of TCM prescriptions for IPP patients. Future well-designed, randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trials are warranted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM for precocity.