Report of an Operated Lung Cancer Case with Administration of Ninjinyoei-to to Misswallowing

Abstract

We occasionally experience cases of perioperative misswallowing even when there is no evidence of damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Treatment of such cases has proved to be very difficult. We report a male patient aged 76 who had dyspnea accompanied by aspiration pneumonia after the patient had been operated on for lung cancer. Pneumonia subsequently subsided while misswallowing persisted. Although there was no paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, marked deficiency of both Qi (vital energy) and blood as well as frequent defecation and diarrhea were noted. A formulation of Ninjin-yoei extract was given in a dose of 9.0g/day through the gastric fistula. Frequent defecation and diarrhea improved one week later, and he started having around 30% of nutrition orally without swallowing in the wrong way. His general conditions improved steadily, and he was released from the hospital. These results indicate that Ninjin-yoei-to is also effective in cases of aspiration pneumonia with deficiency of both Qi and blood.