<b>Five Cases of Acute Ventilation Attack Successfully Treated with Shigyakusan in the Emergency Department</b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

We report five cases of acute hyperventilation attack, with bilateral fullness of the chest and hypochondrium, and bilateral rectus abdominis muscle strain, that were successfully treated with shigyakusan. Case 1 was a 47-year-old female ; case 2 was an 18-year-old female ; case 3 was a 23-year-old female ; case 4 was a 39-year-old male ; and case 5 was a 40-year-old male. All five patients visited the emergency department with complaints of severe dyspnea and tetany. Their abdominal signs were characteristic, with remarkable bilateral fullness of the chest and hypochondrium and bilateral rectus abdominis muscle strain. In cases 1 to 4, the patients were given 2.5 g of shigyakusan extract, and their symptoms promptly improved. In case 5, as the patient could not swallow the prescribed medication at presentation, intramuscular diazepam was given. Thereafter, he complained of continuous severe numbness ; we subsequently gave him shigyakusan, and his numbness promptly improved. In conclusion, shigyakusan seems to be a useful Kampo drug for the treatment of acute hyperventilation attack.