Refractory Chest Pain in Mild to Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 Successfully Treated with Saikanto, a Japanese Traditional Medicine.
Tohoku J Exp Med
; 257(3): 241-249, 2022 Jul 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1917073
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes a variety of pain symptoms in the acute phase. Severe chest pain suddenly occurs even without abnormalities on examination and is sometimes refractory to analgesics. Such pain is a clinical concern in care facilities with limited resources, and this is the first report on the use of saikanto for its treatment. In Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms were admitted to a hotel that operated as an isolation facility, and their symptoms were observed. In this article, we report four cases in which chest pain comorbid with mild to moderate COVID-19 was successfully treated with saikanto, a traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine. The patients presented with chest pain and underwent medical examination at the facility. Two patients had severe chest pain refractory to acetaminophen. Critical cardiopulmonary diseases were ruled out in all the patients, and three patients had features of pneumonia on chest radiograph. Medications, including saikanto, were administered to the patients. The patients' chest pain and other symptoms improved 1-4 days after the administration of saikanto, and they left the care facility without hospitalization. The cause of the chest pain experienced by these patients is unclear, but we speculate that it could be minimal pleural inflammation or neuropathy. Previous pharmacological studies have suggested anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of the crude drugs that constitute saikanto. This case report suggests that saikanto could be a treatment option for chest pain refractory to analgesics in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Case report
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
/
Traditional medicine
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Tohoku J Exp Med
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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