No abstract

This is a pragmatic, two-armed, parallel, single-center, randomized controlled clinical trial for comparative evaluation between the effectiveness of integrated Korean medicine (IKM) and herbal medicine treatment with that of IKM monotherapy (control) for post-accident syndrome persistent after the acute phase. Participants were randomized into Herbal Medicine (HM, n = 20) and Control groups (n = 20) to receive the allocated treatment of 1–3 sessions/week for 4 weeks. Intention-to-treat analysis was conducted. The Difference of Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) change of overall post-accident syndromes from baseline to week 5 for the two groups was 1.78 (95% CI: 1.08–2.48; p < 0.001). Regarding secondary outcomes, a significant decrease compared to the baseline values was confirmed for NRS of musculoskeletal, neurological, psychiatric complaints and general symptoms of post-accident syndromes. In a survival analysis based on the recovery criteria of “patients with a reduction in the NRS of overall post-accident syndromes of ≥50%,” the HM group showed a shorter time to recovery than the control group during the 17-week study period (p < 0.001 by the log-rank test). IKM combined with herbal medicine treatment significantly improved the quality of life by relieving somatic pain and alleviating the overall post-accident syndrome persistent after the acute phase; this effect was maintained for at least 17 weeks.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical studies between 2015 and 2020 on the traditional Chinese medicine treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. Methods We searched clinical studies on the Chinese medicine treatment published in traditional Chinese medical journals on CTS through the CNKI search. Fifteen published studies between 2015 and 2020 were chosen and examined for the year of publication, sample size, study design type, diagnosis and evaluation of diverse criteria, treatment period, purpose of the study, and classification based on the treatment technique. Results Out of 73 studies, 15 had practiced various Chinese medical treatments, such as acupuncture, moxibustion, manipulation, herbal medicine application therapy, and external herbal treatment. Conclusions Various studies have investigated the Chinese medicine treatment for CTS in China. To envelope the treatment of CTS in Korean medicine, steady and valuable therapies for high-level clinical research are required. In the future, this study could be helpful in the development of the treatment of CTS with Korean medicine.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of integrative Korean medicine treatment for patients who were diagnosed as acute fracture on pelvis. The patients were treated by Korean medicine as conservative management including acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medication and cupping for hospitalization periods. Numerical rating scale (NRS), EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D), Oswestry disability index (ODI), patient global impression of change (PGIC), selfwalking distance and the changes of symptoms were measured to assess patients' improvement. NRS, ODI scores and EQ-5D definitely improved on 4 patients of 5 cases. NRS decreased from 6~7 to 3~5, ODI scores decreased from 62~75.11 to 40~52 and EQ-5D increased from 0.013~0.331 to 0.47~0.773. PGIC and self-walking distance were also enhanced after treatments. In conclusion, this study suggests that integrative Korean medicine could be effective treatment for acute pelvic fracture. (J

This study aims to evaluate the effect of various Korean medicine treatment techniques on knee pain with medial plica syndrome. We treated three knee pain patients with medial plica syndrome using acupuncture, herbal medicine, pharmacopuncture and cupping during their hospitalization. EuroQol-five dimensions (EQ-5D), Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), numerical rating scale (NRS) and the changes of symptoms were used for patient assessment. There were notable decreases in WOMAC and NRS and a notable increase in EQ-5D of case 1 and 3. There was also an improvement in the symptoms experienced by the patients. Our study is the first case report to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment compared to those of the pre-existing surgical and conservative treatments for knee pain patients with medial plica syndrome. (J