Given the increasing prevalence of tinnitus and expenditure related to its treatment, it is important to identify the efficacy of different treatment methods used for its diagnosis and treatment. To this end, this study analyzed the trends of medical service utilization for tinnitus in adult patients from 2010 to 2018 based on a national sample of medical claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Samples database. A total of 94,323 patients with tinnitus were identified in Korea between 2010 and 2018. The results confirmed that the number of patients, claim numbers, and expenditures steadily increased during the nine-year period. Blood circulation agents were the most commonly used drug therapy; however, the frequency of their use gradually decreased, whereas that of tinnitus and vertigo medicines gradually increased. Total and average expenditure per patient nearly doubled in this period. The study showed that medication trends are changing from blood circulation agents to tinnitus or vertigo medicines. The findings of this study may be helpful for clinicians and researchers in the study, treatment, and management of tinnitus.
The purpose of this study is to report the effects of Korean medicine treatment in wrist drop patient with thoracic outlet syndrome. We treated the patient for 8 days using Korean medicine treatment such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, Chuna manual therapy and pharmacopuncture. Changes in the numerical rating scale (NRS), EuroQol five dimension (EQ-5D) index, and symptoms were measured for assessment. After 8 days hospitalization, NRS decreased from 5 to 3, EQ-5D index and the symptoms of the patient also were improved. In conclusion, this case shows that Korean medicine treatment can be an effective treatment for wrist drop with thoracic outlet syndrome.
Background:
Presentation of musculoskeletal symptoms, such as pain, discomfort, or disability, caused by a traffic accident (TA) is a common occurrence. However, studies on treatment and management of sudden low back pain (LBP) caused by a TA are very scarce, while studies on the effectiveness of motion style acupuncture therapy (MSAT) used on such patients are also rare. Accordingly, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is planned to assess the effectiveness and safety of MSAT using traction (T-MSAT) for the treatment of pain and functional problems in patients with acute LBP caused by a TA.
Methods:
This study will be conducted at Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine in South Korea, using a two-armed, parallel, assessor-blinded RCT design. The study population will consist of 100 participants who will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the T-MSAT+integrative Korean medicine therapy (IKMT) group or IKMT control group. The treatment will be applied continuously for 3 days after admission. The primary outcome will be the difference between the numeric rating scale (NRS) scores at admission and immediately after treatment on the fourth day of admission. Secondary outcomes will include visual analogue scale (VAS) for LBP and radiating leg pain; NRS for radiating leg pain; lumbar active range of motion; Oswestry Disability Index (ODI); Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC); the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5-K); and 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12).
Discussion:
This study is a RCT to assess the effectiveness and safety of T-MSAT for acute LBP caused by a TA. The findings could be used by healthcare-related policy makers and clinicians in primary care institutions, which are frequently visited by patients suffering from LBP caused by a TA.
Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a rare disorder characterized by overgrowth of fat in the extradural space, causing spinal stenosis with compression of the neural elements. This study reports on the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment on a patient who was diagnosed on lumbar stenosis with lipomatosis. The patient was treated with Korean traditional medicine including pharmacopucture, acupuncture, Chuna manual treatment, and Korean herbal medicine, cupping. Numerical rating scale (NRS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Euroqol five dimension (EQ-5D) index, lumbar range of motion were used as objective tools for evaluating the patient's progress. Back NRS decreased from 6 to 3. In the case of lower limbl radiation NRS, 5 was reduced to 3 upon discharge. EQ-5D index also increased from 0.751 to 0.766. For ODI, the score dropped from 26.67 to 24.44 on hospitalization. As a result, clinical improvements were found in a patient. In conclusion, this study shows that Korean medicine treatment can be considered as effective conservative care for spinal stenosis with lipomatosis.
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