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Background: Acupoint herbal patching (AHP) is widely used for symptom management in patients with acute and chronic bronchitis. The purpose of this protocol review is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AHP for the treatment of bronchitis., Methods and Analysis: This protocol of systematic review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). The databases searched will include PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, 3 Korean medical databases (OASIS, Korea Med, and KMBASE), and the Chinese database China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs using AHP for bronchitis will be considered. The selection of the studies, data abstraction, and validations will be performed independently by 3 researchers., Conclusion: The conclusion of the review will provide evidence that AHP is an effective intervention in patients with bronchitis., Ethics and Dissemination: As individuals were not involved, ethical approval is not required. Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This systematic review may inform the treatment of bronchitis patients in clinical practice., Registration: This systematic review has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The reference number is CRD42018110380.

Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a disease commonly manifesting purpura, joint pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms. It can lead to glomerulonephritis (Henoch–Schönlein purpura nephritis, HSPN), which is directly associated with mortality and progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). While HSP occurs more commonly in children, deadly outcomes occur at a higher rate in adult patients. Previous studies have not reported effective treatment of HSPN by Western or traditional medicine. Here, we report two cases of adult HSPN patients treated with the herbal medicine Jarotang (JRT, modified Sipjeondaebo-tang, modified SJDBT). Two female patients (Cases 1 and 2), who were 26 and 27 years old, respectively, came to visit us complaining mainly of cutaneous purpura. Both women were diagnosed with HSP, and the results of urinalysis indicated that the HSP had already progressed to renal involvement (3+ proteinuria with 3+ urine occult blood in case 1; 100–120 RBC/HPF with 2+ urine occult blood in Case 2). Both patients were given modified SJDBT in the name of JRT, with some herbs added to disperse and circulate stagnant qi, relieve indigestion, and clear heat. After treatment, patient 1 showed only a trace level of urine occult blood, with disappearance of purpura and proteinuria. Patient 2 showed complete remission of purpura and hematuria. Modified SJDBT, namely, JRT was effective in treating 2 cases of adulthood HSP and subsequent nephritis. This may be due to the ability of this therapy to replenish qi and blood and/or its immunological effect on T cells. The medication can serve as an effective cure for HSPN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there were randomized control trials (RCTs) that showed the considerable efficacy of herbal medicine (HM) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and systematic reviews on the value of some herbs in the treatment of IPF, there have been no systematic reviews comparing the combined use of complex HM against pirfenidone monotherapy in IPF. This review evaluated the efficacy of parallel administration of HM and pirfenidone in IPF treatment. We conducted a systematic review of RCTs that compared pirfenidone monotherapy against pirfenidone combined administration with HM in IPF. We searched the EMBASE, CENTRAL, PubMed, and CNKI databases for relevant RCTs published before July 2021. Six RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Compared with the control group, a greater recovery or a smaller reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC) and, in general, a valid improvement in the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire was observed in the treatment group. However, it should be noted that the risk of bias of the included RCTs was high or unclear in most categories. In IPF treatment, HM administered with pirfenidone effectively protected pulmonary function and improved the quality of life. However, given the number and quality of the included studies, the evidence was not strong enough to draw definitive conclusions. Well-designed future RCTs are warranted to evaluate the impact of HM on IPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study was performed to evaluate the clinical effect of a Korean medicine treatment for livedoid vasculopathy (LV).Methods: Five patients with LV were selected who exhibited blood stasis due to qi stagnation () caused by external cold () or dual deficiency of qi and blood () and who had suffered from chronic episodic LV for at least 2 years. The treatment consisted of Korean herbal medicine, Haechungtang (, HC). Five cases were evaluated based on visual symptoms. The symptoms at first visit were scored on a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 1 to 10.Results: Following treatment, all of the symptoms except pigmentation disappeared completely in all cases. No symptom control with corticosteroids or warfarin was necessary.Conclusion: These case reports suggest that HC could be effective for treating LV. Follow-up studies and further clinical studies are needed to evaluate recurrence and to provide more efficient treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Infertility has long been recognized as a treatable disease, and complementary and alternative medicine treatments, such as acupuncture and moxibustion, have been used in Korea and China. This study describes female infertility treatment programs that used traditional Korean medicine (TKM) and were conducted by local governments in Korea and evaluates its effectiveness and safety. Methods: The authors officially requested related information from the report of the infertility treatment programs and related sources from 2006 to 2016 from the Health & Welfare Ministry of Korea and the Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM). Additional information was obtained from six Korean databases. Data including basic information about the programs, participant information, interventions, and outcomes were abstracted. Results: A total of 9 reports, including multiple years of data from 6 programs (total 13 programs), were identified. In these 13 programs, a total of 1023 female subjects participated, and 205 of the 887 subjects who completed the program reported a successful pregnancy, indicating a 23.1% pregnancy rate. The programs lasted 3–9 months, and interventional elements, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, fumigation, and massage, were identified. Significant adverse effects were not reported. Conclusions: This study suggests that infertility treatment programs with TKM interventions exhibited a positive effect on pregnancy in females with infertility. Thus, the infertility treatment programs with TKM interventions are expected to be useful and might serve as the primary treatment before assisted reproduction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the clinical effect of Korean medicine treatment for pigmented purpuric dermatosis (PPD).Methods: Five cases of PPD with skin purpura and blood heat due to blood deficiency were evaluated. All patients had been in a chronic disease state for at least 1 year. The treatment consisted only of the Korean herbal medicine Gami-Samultang (GS). The degree of symptoms that the patients experienced when they first visited our clinic was set at a visual analog scale (VAS) score of 10.Results: After treatment, body purpura disappeared in all cases. In contrast, the patients' symptoms had not resolved following previous steroid treatment. All patients were satisfied with the treatment results and showed a VAS score of 0 for purpura.Conclusion: This report suggests that GS can be used to effectively treat PPD. Additional clinical studies on PPD are needed to develop more comprehensive treatment guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]