Quality of life in patients treated with Kampo medicine: a complementary alternative to modern medicine

OBJECTIVE: Kampo (Japanese traditional herbal medicine) is widely used as a complementary medicine for improving the quality of life (QOL) of patients in Japan. We investigated the efficacy of kampo therapy in improving QOL of patients with various diseases and disorders, using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Scale (WHOQOL-BREF). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and sixty-seven outpatients with various diseases or disorders wishing to receive kampo therapy and who had already been treated with modern medicines were recruited into the study. Patients were offered kampo formulas and modern medicines for 3 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores of WHOQOL-BREF and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Global Improvement scale, and adverse events. RESULTS: Eleven patients were "very much improved," 46 were "much improved," 59 were "minimally improved," 42 showed "no change," 7 were "minimally worse," and one was "much worse" in the CGI Global Improvement scale. The mean WHOQOL-BREF score improved significantly from 3.05 +/- 0.54 at baseline to 3.14 +/- 0.53 after 3 months (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Patients presenting with various diseases and disorders were successfully treated with kampo therapy. Our results suggest that kampo therapy as a complementary medicine may improve the QOL of patients with various diseases and disorders.