Survey of Clinical Practice Patterns of Korean Medicine Doctors for Anorexia in Children: A Preliminary Study for Clinical Practice Guidelines

Jihong Lee, Sun Haeng Lee, Jae Hyun Kim, Yong Seok Park, Sulgi Park, Gyu Tae Chang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Parents often have concerns regarding anorexia in their children and visiting medical institutions for the intervention of it. This study aimed to investigate the clinical practice patterns of Korean medicine doctors (KMDs) for anorexia in children using a web-based survey. A link to the questionnaire was sent via email to all KMDs that were affiliated with the Association of Korean Medicine. The questionnaire covered items on the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical characteristics related to Korean medicine (KM), such as diagnosis, treatment, awareness, safety, and effectiveness. Of 23,910 KMDs, 384 agreed to participate and complete the questionnaire. Anorexia in children was diagnosed mainly by clinical features (36.4%) and the pattern identification (PI) theory of ‘Qi, Blood, Fluid, Humor, and Organ system diagnoses’ (32.8%). The most frequently used PIs was ‘spleen-stomach qi deficiency’ (38.6%), which was followed by ‘spleen failure in transportation’ (23.3%), ‘stomach yin deficiency’ (15.5%), and ‘liver depression’ (14.2%). Herbal medicine (38.1%) was the primary KM treatment for anorexia, and the names of the most frequently prescribed herbal decoctions were Sogunjung-tang (16.5%), Hyangsayukgunja-tang (15.9%), and Bojungikgi-tang (13.9%). This study provides information on the existing clinical practice patterns of KMDs for anorexia in children. Based on this survey, the clinical practice guidelines will be developed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1409
JournalChildren
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.

Keywords

  • anorexia
  • appetite
  • children
  • health surveys
  • traditional Korean medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Survey of Clinical Practice Patterns of Korean Medicine Doctors for Anorexia in Children: A Preliminary Study for Clinical Practice Guidelines'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this