BWM But, WH Chan, YS Yau, GLH Chan

Abstract

Although western medicine is well accepted in Hong Kong, local Chinese who make up most of the population commonly use Chinese medicinal herb. We describe a 7-year-old Chinese girl who presented with delirium and confusion after ingestion of a broth, made with Chinese medicinal herb intended to be "Lingxiaohua". Chemical analysis of the soup showed the presence of atropine and scopalamine which were probably derived from "Naoyanghua", one kind of Chinese medicinal herb which may be mixed up with "Lingxiaohua" because of their similar external appearance.