ABSTRACT
Here, we report a case of nocturnal enuresis persisting into adulthood treated with Kampo medicine. A 21-year-old woman had a history of nocturnal enuresis every night during childhood and once every 2-3 nights during school age. Although the frequency of urinary incontinence decreased to 1-2 times/week at 19 years of age, nocturnal enuresis persisted into adulthood. She was diagnosed with mild strain of the rectus abdominis muscles and palpable abdominal aortic pulsation above the umbilicus, and keishikaryukotsuboreito (decoction) therapy was initiated. She did not experience urinary incontinence at night for 3 weeks, except for one episode immediately after treatment commencement. She tended to urinate only 4 times from the time she awoke until bedtime ; therefore, we added a small amount of goreisan to her treatment regimen to increase the urinary output and daytime frequency of urination. The frequency of urination increased from 4 to 7 times and stabilized. We discontinued goreisan administration 2 months later, and keishikaryukotsuboreito monotherapy was continued. We did not observe recurrent nocturnal enuresis and, therefore, switched the decoction to an extract. After the symptom stabilized, the dosage of keishikaryukotsuboreito was reduced by half. Nocturnal enuresis occurred only once when the patient missed a dose for 3 consecutive days but did not recur for over 4 months after strict adherence to medication. This case report highlights the role of Kampo therapy as an effective therapeutic option for nocturnal enuresis persisting into adulthood.
ABSTRACT
Kampo medicines have been used for treatment by an increasing number of doctors in recent years, and are becoming more frequently prescribed in combination with Western drugs. In the present study, we conducted a questionnaire of outpatients at the Kampo Clinic of Keio University Hospital in order to determine their perceptions and compliance regarding Kampo medicines.Ninety eight percent of patients used Kampo medicines in granular form, and approximately 30% of these patients reported difficulty in taking medicine due to reasons such as “bad taste”. Sixty percent of patients used Kampo medicines three times daily. Patients most often forgot to take afternoon doses, and so desired doses once daily. Furthermore, the same number of patients preferred Kampo medicines in tablet form as those who preferred Kampo medicines in granular form.The present findings clarified patients' perceptions toward Kampo medicines. Doctors and pharmacists must provide suitable treatment for patients by recognizing their perceptions of Kampo medicines.
Subject(s)
Medicine, KampoABSTRACT
Background : Since 2002, Keio University Hospital's Kampo Clinic has promoted itself actively through the media, public presentations, faculty outreach and an internet home page. However, the relative value of these promotions is unknown. Additionally, the range and prevalence of presenting concerns, and the ages and the gender ratio of the patients served at Keio is unknown.Objective and Methods : To better understand and better serve the patients, the medical charts of every new patient who presented to Keio University Hospital's Kampo Clinic from November 2004 to November 2005 (n=791) were retrospectively analyzed for 1) referral source, 2) age, 3) gender, and, 4) disease category.Results : The internet webpage was by far the best source of new patient referrals. The out-of-hospital referral rate to the clinic was remarkably low. Women exceeded men by a 3 : 1 ratio. Most women were in their thirties but male patients were fairly evenly distributed across the age spectrum. Patients under 16 and over 70 were gender-balanced. The vast majority of patients presented with general medicine/pediatric, dermatological or gynecological problems.Conclusion : A patient-oriented internet home page provides a good source of new patient referrals. Given the low rate of referrals from outside hospitals and physicians, additional outreach directed at internal medicine, dermatology or obstetrics/gynecology physicians appears warranted.
