ABSTRACT
There are few reports on the effects for children using the diagnostic method of Kampo medicine (called sho : pattern diagnosis). Therefore, we investigated the effects of combination therapy with Kampo medicines prescribed by specialists in this ancient form of medicine to children who were refractory to modern medicine. This was a retrospective observational study of 98 children (pre-school children (PS ; n = 21), elementary school students (ES ; n = 37) and junior high school students (JS ; n = 40)) younger than 16 years old at the first visit to our department of Chiba University hospital between April 2007 and April 2017. We collected the following information from their medical records : background, chief complaint, referral source, and efficacy of Kampo medicines. We evaluated efficacy for Kampo medicine as follows : Higher improvement (HI) (symptoms improved by 2/3 or more) ; Improvement (I) (symptoms improved by 1/3-2/3) ; Mild improvement (MI) (symptoms improved by 1/3 or less) ; constant ; aggravated ; and unknown or first visit only. Positive response (HI, I, and MI) due to Kampo medicines was observed in 76% (75/98) of patients. No aggravations were observed. The chief complaint by age was skin diseases in PS, digestive diseases in ES, and cardiovascular diseases in JS. Pediatrics was the primary referral in all ages, while 30% of JS were referred from psychiatry. Kampo medicine was significantly more effective for those in PS and ES compared to those in JS (p = 0.025). Combined use of Kampo medicine and modern medicine therapy is useful for children refractory to modern medicine.