Abstract
Orengedokuto is indicated for patients with "Chinomichisho" i.e. complaints due to hormonal disorder, but administration to climacteric patients seems to have decreased recently. We retrospectively investigated our use of Kampo treatment under traditional standards for forty climacteric patients and showed that thirty-eight patients had improved, one was unchanged and one could not be estimated. Kampo medicines frequently administered to the patients showing improvement were orengedokuto in eleven patients and kamishoyosan in ten patients. Comparison of symptom scores showed that scores for fatigability in the morning and heavy feeling of the body in orengedokuto-responders were alleviated compared to those in kamishoyosan-responders. Comparison of patient characteristics at the initial consultation showed that body mass index was elevated in orengedokuto-responders and blood pressure was increased in kamishoyosan-responders. There were a great number of patients feeling more than a slight degree of coldness among kamishoyosan-responders, while a greater number of orengedokuto-responders reported that they never felt cold. We reported two patients with typical symptoms who received orengedokuto. Although orengedokuto was not indicated as an effective medicine for climacteric disorder in recent Kampo textbooks, this medicine should be more frequently prescribed for this condition.
