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. 2017;3(1):60.
doi: 10.1186/s40981-017-0130-5. Epub 2017 Oct 27.

Japanese traditional herbal medicine reduces use of pregabalin and opioids for pain in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis: a retrospective cohort study

Mitsuhiko Oohata  1 , Yuko Aoki  1 , Michiko Miyata  1 , Hiroki Mizobe  1 , Kenji S Suzuki  1
Affiliations

Japanese traditional herbal medicine reduces use of pregabalin and opioids for pain in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis: a retrospective cohort study

Mitsuhiko Oohata et al. JA Clin Rep. 2017.

Abstract

Background: There has been an increase in the number of Japanese patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) who complain of chronic pain or motor disturbance in the lower back or extremities. These patients are often treated with anti-convulsive drugs, opioids, antidepressants, acetaminophen, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, all of which can cause side effects. For this reason, Japanese traditional herbal medicine (Kampo) is of interest, because it produces fewer adverse reactions. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to analyze the effects of Kampo in patients with LSCS.

Findings: A total of 151 patients with LSCS were divided into two groups based on treatment with (n = 111, group K) and without (n = 40, group N) Kampo. Use of pregabalin and opioids decreased significantly in group K (p < 0.001). The hazard ratio for opioid discontinuation was 0.220 (p = 0.004) for group N vs. group K, while that for pregabalin and antidepressants discontinuation were 0.589 (p = 0.202) and 0.509 (p = 0.377), respectively. The mean duration of hospital visits and treatment did not differ between the groups, but the number of dropouts was significantly higher in group N (p < 0.0001). The hazard ratio for patient dropout was 4.118 (p = 0.001) for group N vs. group K.

Conclusions: Kampo led to discontinuation of opioid use for pain in patients with LSCS, and patients who were treated with Kampo were more likely to continue treatment.

Keywords: Japanese traditional herbal medicine; Kampo; Lumbar spinal canal stenosis; Oriental medicine; Pain management.

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Conflict of interest statement

This study was approved by the ethics committee of Iwate Medical University Graduate School of Medicine (approval number; H29-56).The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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