Assessment of Quality of Life in 26 Patients with Primary Hyperhidrosis before and after Oriental Medicine Treatment

일차성 다한증 환자 26명의 한의학적 치료 후 삶의 질 변화에 대한 임상적 평가

Backgrounds and Objectives: Primary hyperhidrosis deeply affect a patient's quality of life, resulting in impairments of daily activities, social interactions and occupational activities. The objectives of the study were to assess quality of life(QOL) in patients with primary hyperhidrosis before and after treatment with oriental medicine. Methods : Between December 2006 and July 2007, 26 patients underwent oriental medicine treatment. which consisted of herb medicine. acupuncture and iontophosis (if palmar/plantar hyperhidrosis) treatment. QOL questionnaires comprised of dermatology life quality index (DLQI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) were employed before and after treatment Results : All 26 patients were evaluated. The treatment controlled primary hyperhidrosis in 84.6% of cases. The mean of DLQI score before treatment was 16.65 after treatment mean DLQI score was 8.18. The mean of VAS before treatment was 91.35 after treatment mean VAS was 49.92. QOL in patients with primary hyperhidrosis significantly improved after oriental medicine treatment. The improvements in QOL were similar in patientswith palmar/plantar, head, and systemic hyperhidrosis. Conclusions : Oriental medicine treatment leads to significantly improved QOL in patients with primary hyperhidrosis. Further studies are needed to evaluate the objective efficacy in patients with primary hyperhidrosis before and after oriental medicine treatment.