Abstract
Kampo, Japanese-Chinese traditional herbal medicine, has been used to treat various diseases in China for about 3000 years. Rikkunshi-to is a herbal medicine well known for improving the gastrointestinal symptoms of chronic gastritis, reflux esophagitis, and other upper gastrointestinal diseases.
Rikkunshi-to, 7.5g daily, was given to 11 chronic renal failure patients on hemodialysis who had refractory hyperpotassemia, and a significant decrease in serum potassium levels was observed.
Before administration, the serum potassium level was 6.7±0.6mEq/l. It had decreased to 6.0±0.8 one week after the start of medication, and further decreased to 5.5±0.5 and 5.6±0.6mEq/l two weeks and four weeks, respectively, after the start of Rikkunshi-to, and these decreases were significant statistically (p<0.05). No apparent side effects of the medication were detected, and the drug seemed to be quite effective, useful and easy to administer to hemodialysis patients whose hyperpotassemia was refractory when treated by conventional methods.
