• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2010

Objective: The study aimed to review all randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) performed in Korea with herbal medicine, to produce further useful information for herbal-drug development. Methods: All papers reporting RCT with herbal drugs were collected via public database of Korea Science and Technology Integration Services, and various Oriental medicine journals. Then, the clinical question, herbal medicine, result, RCT design, and its conductor were analyzed. Results: A total of 20 RCTs were finally selected, and most of them were performed after 2003. The main subjects of RCT were related to heart and blood circulation, dermatitis, respiration disorder, Sasang constitution, or psychiatric disorders. Eight RCTs were done with a single herb while 12 RCTs were with multiple herbal formulae. In particular, three RCTs for atopic dermatitis with three formulae showed positive results. The quality of RCT was considered as better than average. Conclusions: This study revealed the current status of RCT using herbal drugs. This result would provide helpful information for research and drug development using traditional herbal medicine.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.35-46
• /
• 2022

Objectives This study aimed to review clinical studies on traditional Korean medicine treatment for medial collateral ligament injury of the knee. Methods Clinical studies on Korean traditional medicine treatment of medial collateral ligament injury were conducted. We used five Korean online databases (OASIS, KISS, RISS, DBPia, and ScienceOn) and three foreign databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, and CNKI). Out of 99 studies that were found, we excluded repeated articles, studies that were not related to Korean medicine, and those not relevant to the topic of the study. Results Ten randomized controlled trials and 20 case studies were selected. Eight traditional Korean medicine treatments, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, chuna, and herbal ointment, were used in these studies. The most commonly used treatment was found to be acupuncture. Conclusions Our study showed that traditional Korean medicine for medial collateral ligament injuries was effective. However, there were some limitations. Further clinical studies and randomized controlled clinical trials are needed for more evidence on Korean traditional medicine.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.51-61
• /
• 2016

Background : Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse effect in cancer patients who were exposed to chemotherapy. CIPN impacts on the quality of life and could delay chemotherapy. The aim of this review was to assess the therapeutic effectiveness of herbal medicine in CIPN patients. Methods : Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this review. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane database, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang and four Korean databases without restrictions on time or language. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results : Eleven RCTs involving 706 patients met the inclusion criteria. Eleven different herbal medicines were examined in the included trials. Almost RCTs showed insufficiency in the reporting randomization method and allocation concealment. One trial used allocation concealment and a double-blinding method. Five studies reported that participants dropped out of RCTs and conducted an 'as-treated analysis'. One trials reported adverse effects of herbal medicine. In ten of the eleven trials, the use of herbal medicine had shown significant differences in clinical symptoms or nerve conduction velocity. Conclusions : The use of herbal medicines for CIPN showed significant improvements in the management of CIPN. However, conclusions cannot be drawn because of the generally low quality of methodology and low quantity of data for each single herbal medicine. Further rigorous trials are needed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2010

Objectives : The aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of acupuncture and its relevant modality on post-stroke muscle spasticity Methods : We included 7 randomized controlled trials(RCTs) and 1 crossover study on acupuncture on the post-stroke muscle spasticity. Articles searches were performed in various databases in October 2009. Eight studies from 38 articles met the inclusion criteria and were used to assess the quality of clinical trials by means of Jadad scale, STRICTA, CONSORT statement and cochrane-handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Results : Electrical stimulation such as electroacupuncture and TENS on acupoints was used in five studies. Repeatition of electroacupuncture showed significant decrease of the post-stroke muscle spasticity and persistence of the effect. Only three studies were assessed high quality as the methodological assessment tool(Jadad scale) and none of the studies matched STRICTA recommendations. Conclusions : This systematic review shows that there is beneficial effects of electroacupuncture on the post-stroke muscle spasticity. Further study of large population with high methodological quality will be needed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.104-117
• /
• 2013

Objective : The aim of this review is to development of clinical trial protocol for against cosmetics as a treatment of dry skin condition. Methods : We searched the literature from 2002 through April 2012 using 5 databases. We included randomized controlled trials(RCTs) in which human participants with dry skin condition as chief complaint were treated with cosmetics. The methodological quality of all RCTs was using the Jadad score. Results : Nine RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Cosmetic types included cream (7 trials), lotion (1 trial), oil (1 trial) and body wash (1 trial). The methodological quality of the trials was generally low (Jadad score: mean 1.78; range, 1 to 3). Conclusions : The evidence for cosmetics as an effective treatment for dry skin condition(xerosis) is currently scarce and of poor quality, and is therefore inconclusive. More rigorous studies are warranted.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.425-451
• /
• 2022

Objectives: To review trends of clinical trials on Korean medicine treatments for postoperative sleep improvement. Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Korean medicine treatments for postoperative sleep improvement from ten domestic and foreign databases. Sample sizes, diseases, types of operation, diagnosis tools, pattern identification, interventions, outcome measurements, and main results of included studies were extracted and analyzed. Results: A total of 20 RCTs were selected. Most studies were published in China. The most common target disease was cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease. Most studies lacked detailed description regarding participants such as onset, duration of sleep disturbance, and preoperative sleep issues. Herbal medicine was the most frequently used in 12 studies. The most commonly used prescription was Suanzaoren decoction. The effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment on improving postoperative sleep was found to be significant in most studies. Conclusions: Korean medicine treatments might be effective in postoperative sleep improvement. However, the quality of included studies was low. Therefore, further well-designed research studies are needed to provide high quality clinical evidence on Korean medicine treatments for postoperative sleep improvement.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.81-92
• /
• 2017

Objectives: This review aims to report the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled studies (RCTs) using electroacupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea up to Dec 2016. The following databases were searched : OASIS, PubMED, EMBASE, CENTRAL. The results of the studies were analyzed and the risk of bias was assessed. Results: Five studies were included in this review. In most studies, the effect of electroacupuncture at Sameumgyo (SP6) was better than that of electroacupuncture at Hyeonjong (GB39), nonacupoint and no intervention about Visual analog scale (VAS), Verbal rating scale (VRS) and Retrospective symptom scale (RSS). But there were no significant effects on Resistance Index (RI) and S/D ratio (the ratio between peak systolic to end-diastolic flow velocity in uterine arteries). Serous adverse events were not reported. Conclusions: This review shows that electroacupuncture is effective on primary dysmenorrhea with no serious adverse events.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.61-74
• /
• 2019

Objectives This study aimed to review clinical studies about Korean medicine used in peroneal nerve palsy. Methods In 11 online databases (Earticle, Research Information Sharing Service, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, KMbase, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, National Digital Science Library, MEDLINE/Pubmed, Ebscohost, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure), we searched clinical studies about Korean medicine. Among the studies that we've searched, we excluded the studies that are not related to Korean medicine, case reports, randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies. As a result, 16 case studies and 1 randomized controlled trial are included. Results Total number of patients was 123. In these studies, acupuncture (100%), herbal medicine (58.8%), pharmacopuncture (58.8%), Korean physical therapy (58.8%), moxibustion (41.1%), cupping (41.1%) etc. were used. In acupuncture, GB34 and ST36 were most frequently used. Most of the herbal medicines used in these studies were different. Range of movement were most frequently used in outcome measure. Conclusions In this study, we reviewed studies about Korean medicine used in peroneal nerve palsy. It was difficult to clearly determine which intervention has improved the symptom. In the future, Further clinical studies will be needed to retain the evidence for the treatment of peroneal nerve palsy. And also more randomized controlled clinical trials to prove the efficacy of Korean medicine will be needed.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.213-234
• /
• 2023

Objectives: To investigate current status of randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) registration for suicide attempters. Methods: The World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) was used to search for data using 'suicide' as a search term. All registration information of RCTs registered up to April 2023 were collected. Results: Among a total of 68 RCTs registered, the United States ranked the highest in terms of quantity in this field (n=30, 46.15%), whereas Asia had only six (8.82%). A total of 62 (91.18%) RCTs involved individual interventions, while nine (13.24%) RCTs involved group interventions. Among individual interventions, 11 (16.18%) and 54 (79.41%) RCTs were on pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, respectively. Within psychotherapy, there were a total of 17 (25%) studies utilizing digital media, with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via phone being the most common approach. Among non-digital media-based studies, CBT was used the most frequently (n=11, 16.18%), followed by attempted suicide short intervention program (n=6, 8.82%). There were no studies using interventions from East Asian traditional medicine, including Korean medicine (KM). The most frequently used main outcome was the Beck scale for suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Studies on suicide attempts in Asia, especially in South Korea, are very scarce. Despite vigorous psychotherapeutic research in this field, KM psychotherapy has not been used. Thus, KM clinical trial for suicide attempters might be planned in the future based on our findings.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.93-108
• /
• 2012

Objectives : This study aims to review randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for shoulder pain according to Jadad Scale and revised STRICTA. Methods : Seven electronic databases including PUBMED, SCOPUS, RISS were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) of acupuncture for shoulder pain. Results : 16 RCTs were included: 14 were published in English and 2 were published in Korean. According to Jadad scale, 15 RCTs had high quality. However, most of the studies could not meet the double blindness criteria. All RCTs meet 12.9 items on average in STRICTA. Conclusions : This systematic review shows four conclusions as follows. Traditional Chinese Medicine is often used in style of acupuncture. Spots of LI15, TE14, GB21 and LI11, stainless steel needle($0.3mm{\times}40mm$), 20 retention time, manual stimulation, $Deqi$, and 2 times a week treatment (total 12) are often used. Double-blinded clinical trials needs to be conducted. It is controversial to use minimal acupunctures on controlled groups of RCTs on acupuncture for shoulder pain. Description about practitioner's background needs clarifying.