Eczema in paediatrics affects 25% of school going children in Singapore. It is a common skin disorder and the prevalence has increased over the years. Treatment options usually involve the use of corticosteroids in Western Medicine. Researches have shown that the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has increased widely in Singapore as an alternate treatment for eczema. The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the two different treatment options, evaluating the duration, outcome and recurrence rate of eczema in paediatrics.
A selective sampling will be used to obtain a total sample size of 50 participants from 2 different clinics. A questionnaire will be used to obtain data from parents awaiting consultation at the respective clinics. The progress of each participant will be followed up for a total of 2 months. Key words: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western Medicine, eczema & paediatrics. Introduction According to the Department of Statistics, Singapore has a total population of 5. 18 million people as of 2011, of which 77% are Chinese.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment is widely sought in Singapore. A survey done in 2001 reviewed that 67% of the respondents have used TCM (Ku, Tan & Li, 2001). TCM originated from China and mainly uses herbal medicines and acupuncture as a form of treatment. TCM services also have been introduced to complement conventional medicine treatment in Singapore hospitals since 2004. Lim, Sadarangani, Chan & Heng (2005) found that interest in TCM usage is increasing. Loh (2009) did a survey that showed 80% of parents admitted using TCM and conventional medicine for their children.
TCM was used to treat patients with atopic dermatitis, most commonly known as eczema. Eczema is an inflammation of skin that causes a rash form with redness, itching, dryness, cracking and or bleeding. Healthcare system in Singapore is mainly western medicine based. Hence, there are issues on drug-herb interactions. Wai (2006) reported that there were acute liver failure cases due to drug-herb interactions in adult population. It drew attention that users need to be vigilant when usage of TCM and western medicine are combined.
In this study, we aim to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of TCM in comparison to western medicine (2) determine the progress and outcome of two different group of patients who seek TCM and western medicine. Research design The Paediatric Dermatology Clinic is located in the National Skin Centre. It manages various skin disorders in infants and children and aims to help more children with skin disorders achieve a higher quality of life. Chung Hwa TCM Clinic is the largest TCM organization in Singapore. It offers free TCM medical consultation to the general public.
Patients are only required to pay a small sum of fee for the whole visit. A pilot study will be conducted in the Paediatric Dermatology Clinic and Chung Hwa TCM Clinic by a group of 4 surveyors. A total of 50 participants will be selected for this survey. 25 participants will be from Chung Hwa TCM Clinic and the other 25 participants will be from the Paediatric Dermatology Clinic. The target participants are children with eczema ranging from 1 to 16 years old. The parents of children with eczema who are present at the respective clinics on the day of the pilot study will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires.
The survey form consists of 12 questions and 3 follow up questions which require 5-10 mins of the parent’s waiting time to answer. A detailed interview according to the set of questions will be done by the surveyor to ensure a 100% response rate from the parents. Upon completion of the survey, a token of appreciation will be given to the parents to acknowledge their participation in this study. This will be in a form of a small notebook titled “Eczema Diary” which can be used to record the progress of their child during the course of treatment.
After two months, the surveyors will contact the parents to follow up on the child’s progress with the respective treatments based on the 3 follow up questions. Ethical implications We will first seek consent from the Head of Department in the respective clinics in order to conduct this study in the clinics. Upon approval, the surveyors will set up posters for advertisement purpose at the counter of the respective clinics. The surveyors will approach the parents awaiting consultation at the respective clinics. Upon conducting the survey, the surveyors will have to seek permission from the caregivers to conduct the survey.
They will also need the parents’ consent to follow up with the progress of their child for a period of 2 months. The surveyors will need to get approval to have the parent’s contact details so as to collect the data necessary for the study. Dissemination of results The findings will be reported to the Singapore Health Promotion Board. This will increase the public awareness for children with eczema and provide better outcomes about treatment options for eczema. Work plan This pilot study will take a total of 3 months.
The first two weeks will be used for preparation and submission of the research proposal to the Head of Department of Chung Hwa TCM Clinic and the Paediatric Dermatology Clinic for approval. After receiving approval, 1 week will be necessary for the preparation of the pilot study. Data collection will be on the first and last day of the two months duration. Data analysis will need a total of 1 week. Resources The researches will bear the cost of the posters and other materials necessary for this small sampling of pilot study. The researchers will seek cooperation from the clinic staffs will help identify parents of children with eczema.