A Review of Domestic Clinical Studies about Clinical and Subclinical Hypothyroidism Treated with Korean Medical Interventions

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to aid Korean clinical practices for determining clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism and to identify further relevant studies by summarizing the present domestic clinical studies. Methods: The research consisted of a review of articles up to July, 2018 found by searching 'Hypothyroidism' and 'Hashimoto's thyroiditis' as keywords in five domestic electronic databases. Results: Only nine studies satisfied the selection criteria and were analyzed. These included six case reports, two controlled clinical trials, and one randomized controlled trial. Of these, Anjeonleejoong-tang was the most frequent herbal medicine used to treat hypothyroidism. Conclusions: Systematic and large-scale research studies are needed to standardize the guidelines for traditional Korean treatment of hypothyroidism.

Treatment of hypothyroidism using Korean medicine: 2 case reports

“…Previous case series reported that Korean medicine using a combined treatment of herbs and acupuncture improved hypothyroidism. [ 28 , 29 ] Herbal medicines, including Leejoong-tang, Bojungikqi-tang, and Saenggangeonbi-tang, were prescribed under similar diagnoses (“Yin deficiency and Yang hyperactivity).” The treatment period ranged from 40 to 184 days. Although the treatment period could be different based on the severity of symptoms, this study had the shortest period of herbal administration.…”