ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: Hiccups are a common clinical symptom, and persistent hiccups and intractable hiccups severely impair the individual's quality of life. To date, there has been no effective treatment specifically for hiccups. Herein, we report 2 cases with intractable or persistent hiccups that were successfully treated with extracranial acupuncture. PATIENT CONCERNS: The first case is a 46-year-old woman who presented with a 7-year history of intractable hiccups that had worsened over the past 3 years. She also complained of chest tightness, dyspnea, palpitations, dreaminess, dysphoria, intolerance of cold, and hypohidrosis. The second case is a 75-year-old man who presented with a 7-day history of persistent hiccups and hematemesis for 3âhours. The patient's persistent hiccups were treated using traditional Chinese acupuncture, but the patient reported no remarkable benefit. DIAGNOSES: They were diagnosed as intractable or persistent hiccups. INTERVENTIONS: They were treated with extracranial acupuncture. OUTCOMES: The hiccups completely disappeared. During the follow-up period, the hiccups did not reappear. LESSONS: According to neural balance theory, an episode of the hiccups is caused by an imbalance of the nervous system. Extracranial acupuncture in the area adjacent to the external occipital protuberance affects the intracranial nervous system, which can effectively control the hiccups. Our study provides a new approach to the treatment of hiccups.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy/methods , Hiccup/diagnosis , Hiccup/therapy , Acupuncture Therapy/trends , Aftercare , Aged , Female , Hiccup/psychology , Humans , Male , Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods , Middle Aged , Quality of Life , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Persistent and intractable hiccups bring serious inconvenience to patients' work and daily life, and impair their quality of life. Relevant studies showed that acupuncture therapy might be effective in treating persistent and intractable hiccups. However, there is no consistent conclusion so far. The aim of our research is to investigate the safeties and effectiveness of acupuncture in treating patients with persistent and intractable hiccups. METHODS: We will search randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture therapy to treat persistent and intractable hiccups in the following 6 English electronic databases and 3 Chinese electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Allied and Alternative Medicine (AMED), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP) and Wanfang data. The cure rate and the total effective rate will be considered as the primary outcomes. Complete cessation within a given period post-treatment of hiccups, changes in frequency or intensity of hiccups, concomitant symptom score, and adverse events will be considered as secondary outcomes. We will use Endnote software 9.1 for studies selection, Review Manager software 5.3, and STATA 13.0 software for analysis and synthesis. RESULTS: we will synthesize current studies to evaluate the the safeties and effectiveness of acupuncture for persistent and intractable hiccups. CONCLUSION: Our study will provide evidence of acupuncture therapy for persistent and intractable hiccups.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy/methods , Hiccup/psychology , Hiccup/therapy , Quality of Life , Chronic Disease , Humans , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Research Design , Meta-Analysis as TopicSubject(s)
After-Hours Care , General Practitioners/psychology , Hiccup/psychology , Physician's Role , Terminal Care/psychology , Adult , Attitude of Health Personnel , Female , Germany , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Hiccups are intermittent, involuntary spasmodic contractions of the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles leading to the cessation of inspiration due to an abrupt closure of the glottis. Hiccups are usually innocuous phenomena, which could easily be terminated by simple manoeuvres but sometimes they become permanent and intractable causing significant decline in the patient's quality of life. Besides a number of provoking exogenous factors hiccups are caused by organic or psychical disorders. This why in cases of permanent hiccups detailed investigations are important. Beyond physical manoeuvres, pharmacotherapy, surgical intervention and some other therapeutic measures may be effective forms of treatment. In the present report the authors give a review of two patients, whose permanent hiccups were successfully treated with combined medical therapy. They review the causes and therapy of permanent hiccups and call the attention to the therapeutic value of baclofen, a gamma-aminobutyric acid analog compound.
Subject(s)
Baclofen/therapeutic use , GABA Agonists/therapeutic use , Hiccup/therapy , Quality of Life , Adult , Aged , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Hiccup/drug therapy , Hiccup/etiology , Hiccup/physiopathology , Hiccup/psychology , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
There are close to a hundred causes for hiccups, or singultus, the most common of which are gastrointestinal. Causes may be natural or drug induced, and the same agents that are used to treat hiccups may also induce them. Hiccups can be classified by their duration, as follows: up to 48 hours, acute; longer than 48 hours, persistent; and more than two months, intractable. Treatment options for hiccups can include both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic agents. If the cause of hiccups can be identified, it is, of course, preferable to direct the treatment at that cause. However many times a cause cannot be identified; in this case, general measures or treatments should be instituted. Intractable hiccups can occur in the palliative care population. When they do, it can be extremely distressing and have a significant impact on quality of life. Pharmacologic approaches are often the most rational therapies for these patients. Baclofen seems to be a promising drug for use with both palliative care and perioperative patients, and using garabentin as an add-on to baclofen may also be a reasonable option to consider
Subject(s)
Amines , Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids , Hiccup/therapy , Palliative Care/methods , gamma-Aminobutyric Acid , Acetates/therapeutic use , Acute Disease , Baclofen/therapeutic use , Causality , Chronic Disease , Drug Therapy, Combination , Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/therapeutic use , Gabapentin , Hiccup/classification , Hiccup/etiology , Hiccup/psychology , Humans , Muscle Relaxants, Central/therapeutic use , Quality of Life , Recurrence , Severity of Illness Index , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , Valsalva ManeuverABSTRACT
This article provides a comprehensive review of the literature regarding nonmedical approaches to the understanding and treatment of intractable hiccups. The author provides a rationale for an interactional view and presents a case in which post-surgical hiccups were successfully treated, using principles developed by the Mental Research Institute. Of particular interest is the manner in which the therapist managed a system that included the victim's wife, a physician, and other medical personnel who were all trying to eliminate the hiccups. Interventions were designed primarily to alter meanings attributed to the hiccups and, thus, to intervene in the system that was maintaining the problem. This article is presented as a response to Weakland's call for research and practice in family somatics.
