Govt looks into woman’s death at illegal TCM clinic

The government has announced a clinic in Chaoyang district is illegal after a woman died allegedly caused by an injection of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Huang Yazhe, a 47-year-old woman from Fujian Province, died in Dingcheng TCM Clinic in Ligezhuang village on New Year's Eve. Her son Guo Jianxiong told the Global Times Thursday that he believes the clinic should assume full responsibility for his mother's death.

An official from Chaoyang District Health Bureau, surnamed Xu, told the Global Times they need to check the autopsy report before they take further action, but confirmed the clinic is illegal.

"It has been proved the clinic has no license, and is not registered with us," said Xu.

Guo said that he and his mother both caught a cold, so they decided to consult a doctor on New Year's Eve.

Huang was given an injection of asarone, which is made with TCM. Their first dose was fine but when the second dose started, Huang suddenly said she felt uncomfortable and quickly slumped.

Guo said Huang's heart had already stopped beating before she was sent to 263 Hospital in Tongzhou district.

A report from 263 Hospital said Huang suffered a cardiac arrest and an allergic reaction when she was admitted.

Guo said the clinic has been closed since his mother's death, but its director has not appeared, and no government official has been in contact.

According to Guo, the clinic had been operating in this place for more than two years, and continued to operate despite the government launching several crackdowns on illegal clinics during this time.

A local police officer responsible for the investigation, surnamed Jia, refused to comment.

The Global Times tried to contact the head of the clinic but he could not be reached.

Asarone injections have been used to treat respiratory disease for a long time in China, but in 2011 the State Food and Drug Administration warned it may trigger a serious allergic reaction.

Also in 2011, 1,500 cases of adverse reaction have been reported by patients receiving Mailuoning, another TCM injection, and 189 of them suffered from serious problems including respiratory damage or heart disease.