A Case Study on the Use of Trihexyphenidyl, Korean Medical Treatment for the Control of Sialorrhea in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS)

• Published in: Journal of acupuncture research pp. 73 - 79
• Main Authors: 정호현, 김성하, 이상미, 이종철, 박만용, 김동영, 김성철
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 대한침구의학회 01.04.2013
• Subjects: 한의학
• ISSN: 2586-288X; 2586-2898

Objectives : Sialorrhea in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients is a cause of death due to aspiration pneumonia as well as reduces the patient's quality of life. We report the changes that appeared in the sialorrhea treated by using trihexyphenidyl and Korean medical treatments. Methods : We treated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient with sialorrhea by using trihexyphenidyl a known antiparkinsonian agent and Korean medical treatments such as acupuncture, pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine. The salivation rate was checked with visual analogue scale(VAS). Results : There was a more than 50 % decrease in salivation in this case. Owing to the constipation, trihexyphenidyl was stopped after which only Korean medical treatments were provided. Over which a lasting decrease in salivation could be seen. Conclusions : Existing treatments would cause several considerable side effects and have difficulty in being applied in domestic clinics. In this respect, we suspect that our findings could open up new clinical guideline possibilities. We should solve the limitations of this case study and conduct more studies. KCI Citation Count: 2