A Case of Reccurent Crohn's Disease Effctively Treated with Kampo Medicine

Abstract

In 1989, a 17-year-old male patient had fever and was admitted to a hospital in his neighborhood. He was then diagnosed as having Crohn's disease of the colon and ileum. His condition improved when treated with parenteral hyperalimentation via the central vein, an elemental diet, and salazosulfapyridine. Every time a normal diet was introduced, it recurred, which required a second hospitalization. At the third recurrence in July 1992, he expressed the desire to have Kampo medicine and subsequently visited our department. The inflammatory reactions were severe, and he had fever and was losing weight. He was fasted and given parenteral hyperali-mentation via the central vein. He received Kyuki-kyogai-to and Hange-shasin-to concomitantly which were prescribed according to his kampo diagnosis. One month later, CRP was negative and an elemental diet was started. Two months later, he was able to take both elemental and normal diets. Remission is still being maintainned even after he started the normal diet again.
Kampo medicine achieved a prolonged remission in this case where Crohn's disease kept recurring when hyperalimentation therapy was given, This suggests that a combination of an elemental diet and Kampo medicine may play an important role in maintenance therapy for this disease.