A Case Report of Patient with Guillain-Barre Syndrome Complaining of Fatigue and Tingling Improved by Korean Medicine Treatment

Abstract

Methods: A stroke patient with hot flashes was treated for 4 weeks with acupuncture, herbal acupuncture, and herbal medicine. We then evaluated the frequency, intensity, and score (frequency×intensity) of the hot flashes, as well as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which shows subjective sleep quality.Results: After 4 weeks of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) treatment, the patient showed reductions in the frequency of hot flashes from a score of 7 to 4, the intensity of hot flashes from a score of 4 to 2, the scoring (frequency×intensity) of hot flashes from 28 to 4, and the PSQI from 13 to 4. Conclusions:This study validated the effect of TKM as a treatment for hot flashes in patients with stroke.

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]…”

“…In the 14 studies reviewed, acupuncture treatment was performed once or twice a day. 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.…”

“…The frequency of acupuncture treatment was not counted in duplicate in the same case regardless of the type of acupuncture (manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or pharmacopuncture). Pharmacopuncture was used in f ive studies [10,12,15,17,18]. Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture was used in three studies [10,15,16], jungsongouhyul pharmacopuncture was used in two studies [10,12], and Shinbaro pharmacopuncture [18], snake venom toxin pharmacopuncture [17], and sweet bee venom (BV) [12] were used in one study each.…”

“…Pharmacopuncture was used in f ive studies [10,12,15,17,18]. Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture was used in three studies [10,15,16], jungsongouhyul pharmacopuncture was used in two studies [10,12], and Shinbaro pharmacopuncture [18], snake venom toxin pharmacopuncture [17], and sweet bee venom (BV) [12] were used in one study each. The acupoints most frequently used were in areas with complaints of weakness and pain.…”

“…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].…”