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A Case Report of the Use of Traditional Korean Medicine to Treat a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis B Whose HBV-DNA Level Failed to Drop Below Undetectable Levels Following Long-term Treatment with Entecavir

Entecavir와 한의약 치료를 병행한 후 HBV-DNA가 음전된 만성 B형 간염 환자 증례 보고

  • Han, Chang-woo (Dept. of Internal Medicine, Korean Medicine Hospital of Pusan National University and School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University)
  • 한창우 (부산대학교 한방병원 한방내과, 부산대학교 한의학전문대학원)
  • Received : 2017.03.27
  • Accepted : 2017.05.26
  • Published : 2017.05.30

Abstract

The patient presented to the clinic with the complaint of severe fatigue. The patient had been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B a number of years earlier. Although he had used entecavir, an antiviral agent, for over two years, his HBV-DNA level had not dropped below undetectable levels. The fatigue seemed to be associated with chronic hepatitis B. Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) therapy for chronic hepatitis B was administered in conjunction with entecavir and at the same dose. The excessive fatigue gradually decreased following the treatment. On the 28th day, laboratory tests revealed that the patient's bilirubin level was slightly lower and that his HBV-DNA level had dropped below undetectable levels. The addition of TKM therapy may have contributed to the HBV-DNA clearance. No similar cases have been reported in Korea. Herein, we summarize the patient's progress.

Keywords

References

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