A case report of effective traditional Chinese herbal and acupuncture treatment for postherpetic neuralgia in a very elderly patient 7 years after onset

Abstract

We experienced a case in which treatment with traditional Chinese herbal and acupuncture successfully reduced pain and increased the quality of life. A woman in her 90s had a herpes–zoster 7 years ago, and developed chronic postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). She underwent nerve block therapies several times, but they were ineffective. When we started to treat, she was taking a low dose of pregabalin. Her pain score of visual analogue scale (VAS) was 100 mm. We evaluated the effect of our treatment by VAS score and SF–8 acute version for 6 months. We treated her with keishikajutsubuto extract granules, a frequently used remedy for neuralgia aggravated by cold. Acupuncture treatment was executed once a week. The VAS score dropped to 17 mm and the intense pain that struck her several times a day was drastically reduced after 6 months treatment. Physical function– and mental health–related parameters from the SF–8 analysis were also improved. Despite a very elderly woman with many comorbidities and refractory PHN seven years after the onset of the disease, it was possible to reduce her pain and improve her quality of life by the addition of oriental medicine such as Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, while continuing conventional western medical treatment.