Effectiveness analysis of herbal medicine for gastroesophageal reflux disease: A retrospective study

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the clinical features of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in primary clinics and the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine (HM). Thirty-five patients with gastroesophageal-reflux symptom who visited the 16 Korean medicine (KM) primary clinics from June 2022 to October 2022 were included in the study. We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 35 patients and collected clinical characteristics, HM, and outcome variables such as the numerical rating scale, gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire, frequency scale for symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, Euro-Quality Of Life-5 Dimension, and adverse events. Of the 35 patients, 12 (34.3%) were men, and the average age of all patients was 47.0 ± 14.3 years. HM was prescribed for all 35 patients; Pinelliae Tuber (n = 31, 88.57%), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (n = 30, 85.71%), and Poria Sclerotium (n = 28, 80%) were the most prescribed herbs. All scores including numerical rating scale, frequency scale for symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire, and Euro-Quality Of Life-5 Dimension after 30 and 60 days from baselines showed significant improvement, and there were only a few adverse events. This study supports the effectiveness and safety of HM in reducing GERD symptoms in primary Korean medicine clinics. The most frequently used herbs may play significant roles in GERD symptom management.

Figure 1.

Flowchart. Participants received Korean medicine treatment by experienced Korean Medicine doctors. Korean medicine treatment was only herbal medicine, and all clinics already had the data of outcome assessments. GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Figure 2.

Network visualization of frequently used herbs in the herbal decoction for patients with GERD. The size of the nodes represents the frequency of the herb used in the decoction, while the distance between nodes represents the association between herbs. Grouping was done with community detection, and as a result, the large orange nodes in the core are composed of herbs frequently used for GERD, regardless of the Korean medicine type. The nodes inside the purple color were mainly composed of qi-tonifying medicinal herbs, whereas the nodes within the green color seem to be digestion-promoting medicine herbs. GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease.