Pengaruh Terapi Herbal Daun Salam Terhadap Penurunan Kadar Asam Urat di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Sibolangit Kabupaten Deli Serdang

Abstract

Uric acid levels among patients with gout in the working area of the Sibolangit Public Health Center, Deli Serdang Regency, were found to be above the normal range. Elevated uric acid levels can be reduced through herbal therapy using bay leaves. This study aims to analyze the effect of bay leaf herbal therapy on the reduction of uric acid levels in the working area of the Sibolangit Public Health Center, Deli Serdang Regency. The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest approach to examine the effect of bay leaf herbal therapy on uric acid levels. The study population consisted of 235 gout patients, based on patient visit data, with a sample of 31 participants in the intervention group and 31 in the control group. Data were collected through both primary and secondary sources and analyzed using the T-test with a 95% confidence level. The results showed that the average uric acid level before the administration of bay leaf herbal therapy in the intervention group was 10.868 mg/dl, which decreased to 7.900 mg/dl after therapy. In the control group, the average uric acid level before therapy was 10.855 mg/dl and 10.852 mg/dl after. A statistically significant difference was observed in uric acid levels before and after intervention between the intervention and control groups (p-value = 0.000 < α = 0.05). It is recommended that the Sibolangit Public Health Center consider bay leaf herbal therapy as a complementary treatment to conventional medications for gout arthritis to minimize potential side effects associated with pharmacological treatments.