A Case of Septic Patient Treated with Ogi-kenchu-to / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

We report a case of an 84-year-old septic patient who was treated with Ogi-kenchu-to (Huang-qj-jian-zhong-tang). The patient had remained positive for <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>. The focus of infection had not been detected, but bacterial translocation from the digestive tract was suspected from the clinical course. After two weeks of antibiotic therapy, he still had a high fever and positive blood culture. In addition, multiple cultures showed the destruction of normal flora and an increase of antibiotics-resistant bacteria.<br>Antibiotics were then suspended, and he was treated with Ogi-kenchu-to alone. His fever and inflammatory signs gradually disappeared, and his blood cultures became negative without restarting antibiotic treatment. He recovered completely. Ogi-kenchu-to is indicated for treating “generally weakened” patients or patients with intestinal problems. However, we could not find any reports of its application to septic patients. Although we still need to determine the mechanism for its efficacy, we consider that this case adds further evidence that Ogi-kenchu-to may be helpful for those suffering from severe infection, especially in elder patients and immuno-suppressed patients.