A Clinical Case Study of Guillain-Barré Syndrome with Chronic Progression

Abstract

Objectives: This case study reports on one patient presenting atypical and chronic disorders after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Methods: One patient was treated by Yeongseonjetong-eum-gami, Taklisodok-eum-gami, electroacupuncture, and physical therapy. Any improvement in symptoms was assessed by measuring changes in the motor grade of upper limb weakness, the numerical rating scale (NRS) of lower limb numbness, and GBS scores. Results: After 24 days of treatment, the patient's symptoms of GBS showed little improvement. Conclusions: Traditional Korean medical treatment appeared to be effective in reducing GBS symptoms, but more research is required to confirm these results. When treating GBS patients, the clinician should put effort into distinguishing GBS from other nervous disorders, such as acute onset Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP).

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.…”

“…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. The period of acupuncture treatment ranged from a minimum of 14 days to a maximum of 118 days.…”

“…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.…”