K Chang, TWL Mak, L Kwong, KT So

Abstract

Anorectic drugs containing fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine have been classified as 'off-label' drugs in Hong Kong for several years. In this study, we report a case of valvular heart disease found in a teenager who had been taking Chinese proprietary medicine as a weight reducing agent for six months. Fenfluramine was identified in the diet pills. Two other herbal proprietary slimming products adulterated with fenfluramine and affecting several hundred people were subsequently discovered.