SEED: the six excesses (Liu Yin) evaluation and diagnosis scale

Abstract

BackgroundInfections such as common colds, influenza, acute upper respiratory infections, bacterial gastroenteritis, and urinary tract infections are usually diagnosed according to patients’ signs and symptoms. This study aims to develop a scale for the diagnosis of infectious diseases based on the six excesses (Liu Yin) etiological theory of Chinese medicine (CM) by the Delphi method.MethodsA total of 200 CM-guided diagnostic items measuring signs and symptoms for infectious diseases were compiled from CM literature archives from the Han to Ming dynasties, CM textbooks in both China and Taiwan, and journal articles from the China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database. The items were based on infections and the six excesses (Liu Yin) etiological theory, i.e., Feng Xie (wind excess), Han Xie (coldness excess), Shu Xie (summer heat excess), Shi Xie (dampness excess), Zao Xie (dryness excess), and Huo Xie (fire excess). The items were further classified into the six excess syndromes and reviewed via a Delphi process to reach consensus among CM experts.ResultsIn total, 178 items with a mean or median rating of 7 or above on a scale of 1–9 from a panel of 32 experts were retained. The numbers of diagnostic items in the categories of Feng (wind), Han (coldness), Shu (summer heat), Shi (dampness), Zao (dryness), and Huo (fire) syndromes were 15, 22, 25, 37, 17, and 62, respectively.ConclusionsA CM-based six excesses (Liu Yin) evaluation and diagnosis (SEED) scale was developed for the evaluation and diagnosis of infectious diseases based only on signs and symptoms.

A Real-World Data Analysis of The Distribution of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes and Their Elements Among Bronchiectasis Patients

“…According to TCM theory, bronchiectasis arises from the invasion of evils (i.e., wind, heat, and dampness, which conceptually resemble pathogenic infection in western medicine) (26). Our results indicate that bronchiectasis can be divided into ve overlapping categories based on TCM syndromes.…”

“…In the third type of cases, bronchiectasis is the result of stagnated wind evils, particularly in patients with frailty (27). In these cases, wind and heat (the pathogenetic causes) stagnate in the lungs; this usually occurs in the early stage of bronchiectasis (26). In the fourth type of cases, liver-re invading the lung syndrome appears in cases of bronchiectasis with hemoptysis, which is consistent with the traditional understanding (7).In the fth type of cases, prolonged courses of bronchiectasis, coupled with evil stagnation and frailty, can render a substantial loss of primordial Yin (29).According to TCM theory, a de ciency of bodily uid in the respiratory system, especially in the mucous epithelium, is the mechanism behind the Yin-de ciency in the lung syndrome (29).…”