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Chin Med J (Taipei) 1996;57:S248.
Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, and Department of Emergency Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taipei, Republic of China
Food-induced-obstructive lung disease has not been reported before, here, we report an outbreak of obstructive lung disease after taking one kind of vegetable, Sauropus anhydrogynus, as a weight-reducing diet in Taiwan. Since November 1994, some Taiwanese started to eat Sauropus anhydrogynus regularly because they believed that this vegetable will have tremendous effect on weight reduction. In June, few patients started to come to hospital for help because of dyspnea. Since then, 156 persons who had taken this vegetable came to our hospital to receive pulmonary function test and questionnaire due to dyspnea or for checkup. We found that 94% were females, and the age distribution was 40.2 +/- 1l.9 (mean SD). They usually took about 1/4 unit (1 unit = 600gm) of vegetable as raw juice (5.2%), sauieed (9.6%), or mixed (25.2%) daily for a different period of time. We divided these patients into four groups according to the total dose they had taken (group A: 0-1.9 unit; B: 2-4.9 unit; C: 5-7.9 unit; D: > 8unit). We found that the incidence of obstructive ventilator defect (FEV/FVC < 75%) was higher in high dose group than in low dose group (A: 9%; B: 11%; C: 39%; D: 38%). Really, there were 36 patients had obstructive ventilator defect, and these obstructive detect were moderate to severe in degree (FEV1 60-79% predicted; 15.5% 40-59% pred.; < 40% pred.; 52%). The degree of severity of obstruction was correlated the total dose taken (r=0.58, P<0.01). Two-thirds of those 36 patients began to suffer from dyspnea at fourth or fifth month after taking the vegetable. The obstructive ventilator defect was irreversible even treated with high dose corticosteroid.
[Chin Med J (Taipei) 1996; 57: S248.]
Copyright: 1996, Chinese Medical Association (Taipei)