Variability in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Diagnoses and Herbal Prescriptions Provided by Three TCM Practitioners for 40 Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: To ascertain if previous findings of low levels of agreement of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pattern diagnoses made by TCM practitioners in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were a function of practitioner differences or would be replicated with a different sample of clinicians, and to examine the relationship between TCM diagnosis and herbal treatment plans. Design: A prospective survey. Setting: General clinical research center, University of Maryland Hospital System, Baltimore, MD. Subjects: Forty (40) patients with RA. Practitioners: Licensed acupuncturists with at least 5 years’ experience and education in Chinese herbs. Methods: Three (3) TCM practitioners examined the same 40 RA patients separately, following the traditional Four Diagnostic Methods. Patients filled out questionnaires and physical examinations, including observations of the tongue and palpation of radial pulse, were conducted by the 3 practitioners. Each practitioner then provided both a TCM diagnosis and an h...