The Meaning of "Fukuchukan" in the Abdominal Symptom of Daikenchuto-syo

Abstract

Daikenchuto is recorded in Kampo textbooks as a prescription for abdominal disorders. We considered fukuchukan (coldness in the abdomen) as equaling a sensation of coldness centering on the navel, and we examined the usefulness of using Daikenchuto as a medication for this symptom. We administered Daikenchuto to 90 patients who presented with coldness of the navel. The patients were divided into 2 groups : the first group had accompanying digestive symptoms, the second had no accompanying digestive symptoms. We then examined their response rates, and improvement rates for coldness centering on the navel. We also examined the abdominal strength and pulse strength for responders and non-responders, respectively.The Digestive Symptoms group consisted of 64 patients. In this group, the response rate was 81.3%.The improvement rate of coldness centering on the navel was 92.3% in responders and 41.7% in non-responders, and the difference was highly statistically significant (p<0.001). The Non-digestive Symptoms group consisted of 26 patients. In this group, the response rate was 38.5%. The improvement rate of coldness centering on the navel was 100% in responders and 43.8% in non-responders, and the difference was statistically significant (p= 0.022).In a comparison of all 90 responder and non-responder cases, weak abdominal strength was 62.9% in responders and 42.9% in non-responders, intermediate abdominal strength or above was 37.1% in responders and 57.1% in non-responders, and the difference between abdominal strength and response rate (p=0.076) was non-significant. Weak pulse was 54.8% in responders and 40.7% in non-responders, intermediate pulse strength or above was 45.2% in responders and 59.3% in non-responders, and the difference between pulse strength and response rate (p=0.221) was non-significant. 13 of these cases were above intermediate, for both abdominal strength and pulse strength.We conclude that for patients presenting with a sensation of coldness centering on the navel, there is a strong possibility that the efficacy of Daikenchuto-syo is suggested, regardless of whether or not there are other digestive symptoms. Moreover, Daikenchuto proved effective in 13 cases where both abdominal strength and pulse strength were above an intermediate level, suggesting that a sensation of coldness centering on the navel can be the key to finding the sensho of Daikenchuto-sho.Daikenchuto, fukuchukan, sensation of coldness centering on the navel, no accompanying digestive symptoms, sensho

A review of frequently used Kampo prescriptions part 1. Daikenchuto

“…Accordingly, a meta‐analysis of DKT was conducted. As shown in Table 2, previous studies by RCTs and meta‐analysis on DKT have been reported [17, 20–60]. These studies are categorized according to the underlying disease and the targeted condition, and the main ones are described below.…”

“…These components can be found in healthy individuals 30 min after the internal administration of DKT [17, 18]. As a case series study of DKT, it has been reported that abdominal cold sensation significantly improves [51]. Considering these results, the presence or absence of abdominal cold feeling should also be confirmed when DKT is applied to postoperative ileus and should be recorded as a finding when designing a clinical trial.…”