A survey of Korean medicine doctors’ clinical practice patterns for autism spectrum disorder: preliminary research for clinical practice guidelines

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) clinical practice patterns of Korean medicine doctors (KMDs) through questionnaire survey.MethodsQuestionnaires on Korean medicine (KM) treatment for ASD were distributed to 255 KMDs on December 5, 2016. The KMDs were psychiatrists, pediatricians, or general practitioners, who treated patients with ASD. The questionnaire covered items on treatment methods, aims of treatment, KM syndrome differentiation, diagnostic tools, and sociodemographic characteristics. Frequency analysis was conducted to describe the participants and their practices.ResultsA total 22.4% KMDs (n = 57/255) completed the questionnaires and 54 KMDs (21.2%) matched the inclusion criteria. The KMDs utilized herbal medicine (27.3%), body acupuncture (17.6%), scalp acupuncture (10.7%), moxibustion (6.4%), and Korean medical psychotherapy (5.9%) to treat ASD. The most commonly prescribed herbal medicine was Yukmijihwang-tang. Forty-eight (88.9%) KMDs responded that they used KM syndrome differentiation. ‘Organ system, Qi, Blood, Yin, Yang, Fluid and Humor diagnosis’ was most frequently used for syndrome differentiation. ASD was mainly diagnosed based on the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and DSM-5.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated the current status of KMDs’ diagnosis and treatment of ASD. In future clinical trials and clinical practice guidelines, these findings will provide meaningful information on the actual practice patterns of KMDs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-018-2162-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A National Survey on the Clinical Practice Patterns of Korean Medicine Doctors for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children and Adolescents

“…Third, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire used in the study were not assessed. While existing questionnaires that investigated the treatment patterns of KMDs were referred to in the design of the questionnaire, none of these questionnaires had been subject to formal reliability or validity testing [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. The preliminary draft of the questionnaire incorporated and modified questions from existing questionnaires, which were subsequently reviewed by an external panel of experts for appropriateness.…”

“…The initial draft of the questionnaire was constructed by a researcher who is a licensed KMD, a KM pediatrician with more than 15 years of clinical experience, and a professor of pediatrics at KM University. The initial draft was based on a questionnaire from existing survey articles on KM treatment [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. By referring to the domain classification and question format of the existing questionnaires, details such as diagnosis tools, terms of PI, and treatment method (herbal medicine prescription and acupoints) were modified to be tailored to the disease.…”