The Relative Safety of Ephedra Compared with Other Herbal Products

  1. Stephen Bent, MD;
  2. Thomas N. Tiedt, PhD;
  3. Michelle C. Odden, BS; and
  4. Michael G. Shlipak, MD, MPH
  1. From the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California; and Med-Tox Group, Longboat Key, Florida.
    1. Figure.
      View larger version:
      Figure. Sensitivity analysis showing the effect of variations in the estimate of ephedra's proportion of total herbal market sales on the relative risk for an adverse reaction with ephedra compared with other herbs.

      0.82% = best estimate from SPINS, Inc., San Francisco, California; 2.20% = Whole Foods Magazine survey estimate; 13.5% = high estimate assuming that ephedra sales represent half of all nonretail sales in addition to 0.82% of retail sales.

    Summaries for Patients

    • Summaries for Patients:Ephedra Is Associated with More Adverse Effects than Other Herbs Ann Intern Med March 18, 2003 138:I-56
    • Letter:Correction: The Relative Safety of Ephedra Compared with Other Herbal Products Ann Intern Med June 17, 2003 138:1012
    • Letter:Correction: The Relative Safety of Ephedra Compared with Other Herbal Products Ann Intern Med August 5, 2003 139:235
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    1. Ann Intern Med March 18, 2003 vol. 138 no. 6 468-471
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