A Case Report of a Patient with Guillain-Barre Syndrome Complaining of Limb Weakness and Facial Paralysis That Improved After Korean Medicine Treatment

Abstract

Objectives: This study reports a case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in which the patient experienced improved limb weakness, facial paralysis, paresthesia, and systemic pain after Korean medicine treatment.Methods: A 25-year-old female patient diagnosed with GBS received the herbal medicine <i>Banhasasim-tang</i> Soft Ext., acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and rehabilitation treatment. To confirm the change in symptoms, the manual muscle test (MMT), Korean Version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), Yanagihara grading system (Y-score) and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were performed.Results: After Korean medicine treatment, there was a significant improvement in GBS-related clinical symptoms.Conclusions: Korean medicine treatment could be effective in improving symptoms of limb weakness, facial paralysis, paresthesia, and systemic pain related to GBS. However, this study has limitations as a case report, and more studies are needed.

Analysis of Research Trends in Korean Medicine Treatment for Guillain-Barre Syndrome in Korea

“…A total of 14 studies were selected, all of which were case reports [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]…”

“…There were 13 studies using a single size needle, four studies using 0.20 × 30 mm [12,16,17,22], three studies using 0.25 × 40 mm [10,18,19], four studies using 0.25 × 30 mm [13,15,21,23], one study using 0.30 × 30 mm [14], and one study using 0.30 x 40 mm [20]. In one study [11], two different sizes of needles, 0.20 × 30 mm and 0.25 × 30 mm, were used. Acupuncture treatment time was 15-20 minutes in all studies, except in two studies [15,18], where the treatment time was not specified.…”

“…Complex herbal medicine treatment was used in all 14 studies. Medical decoction was used in 13 studies, and in one study [11], extract product (squeeze-type insurance product) was used. A total of 21 complex herbal medicines were used in the 14 studies.…”

“…All 14 patients were diagnosed and underwent Western medical treatment before receiving KMT, of which 2 studies [14,21] did not describe the types of Western medicine. The most frequently performed Western medical treatment was IVIG (n = 11) [10][11][12][13][15][16][17][18][19][20]22]. In four studies [11,18,19,23], steroids were taken M/36 orally, and patients in one study each received rehabilitation treatment [10], plasmapheresis [15], and manual treatment [15].…”

“…The most frequently performed Western medical treatment was IVIG (n = 11) [10][11][12][13][15][16][17][18][19][20]22]. In four studies [11,18,19,23], steroids were taken M/36 orally, and patients in one study each received rehabilitation treatment [10], plasmapheresis [15], and manual treatment [15].…”