(Dept. of Pediatrics, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University)
BACKGROUND : The purpose of this study was to investigate the new effective oriental medical treatments in pediatric diseases and its clinical applicability. METHOD : The study was composed of 1725 new patients who had been treated at the pediatric unit in the Dongguk Bun-Dang Oriental Medicine Hospital for 1 year, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1997, and had ages between 0 and 18 years. The chief complaint was mainly categorized by oral examination on patients and their care-givers. RESULT 1. The ratio of male to female was 1.35:1 and the number of each age group and its percentage distribution was 228 patients (13.2%) for the age group between 0 and 1 year, 746 patients (43.2%) between 2 and 6 years, and 751 patients (43.6%) for the age group over 7 years. 2. The chief complaint of the new outpatients was weakness, asthma, common cold, sinustis, skeletal disease, atopic dermatitis, stomach-ache, short stature, diarrhea, nasal blooding, night terror, allergic rhinitis, gastric disorder, enuresis, dermatitis, strabismus in the order of majority.3. The number of patients and its percentage for the most three complaints was 494 patients (28.6%) for weakness, 647 patients (37.4%) for respiratory disease, 144 patients (8.3%) for digestive disease. 4. The digestive disease tended to increase in summer, and appeared mostly in the age group between 0 and 2 years. The respiratory disease increased In inter-season and winter, but decreased significantly in summer. The age group between 1 and 5 years was the largest group of respiratory disease. CONCLUSION 1. The chief complaint in pediatric diseases that needed an oriental medical treatment was mainly the disease that tends to take long time and the weakness, and appeared frequently in digestive and respiratory diseases. 2. The oriental medical treatment was still preferred as a way to improve the weakness by patients, rather than a way to overcome their disease. In particular, the study shows that the oriental medical treatment should be emphasized in terms of preventing the disease. 3. The new diseases, which were developed with the change of human life and environment, (atopic dermatitis, enuresis, short stature, obesity, dysthymic disorder, strabismus), should be investigated as a new field of oriental medical treatment.