• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.177-182
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• 2018

Background: Breast cancer is a treatable disease, but some women reject conventional treatment in favor of unproven "alternative therapies," which may have serious implications for their survival. Therefore, a process is needed to lead them to more appropriate treatment choices. Case presentation: Here, we present the case of a 51-year-old Korean female diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (stage IIB, T2N1M0) in Nov. 2015. She refused a standard surgical resection together with chemotherapy and opted instead for moxibustion by nonmedical personnel. Consequently, her preference for alternative therapy without conventional treatment exacerbated her disease. Just a little over a year later, integrative cancer treatment, including chemotherapy based on histological founding, and complementary treatment, comprised of acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine, were administered for 5 months. Finally, she successfully underwent modified radical mastectomy showing a pathological complete response. She received only adjuvant chemotherapy without any alternative medicine afterwards, and she maintained a good status without recurrence. Conclusion: In the case of breast cancer patients who are resistant to surgery and chemotherapy, integrative therapy considering adverse effects from conventional treatment should be preferred to bitter opposition to alternative medicine.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.5-15
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• 2004

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine utilization of alternative therapies and understand decisional criteria related to use of alternative therapies among chemotherapy patients. Method: Data were collected from 165 cancer patients through the use of questionnaire and interviews at the chemotherapy treatment rooms of two general hospitals located in Seoul. Result: Sixty point six percent of subjects after cancer diagnosis have experience of using alternative therapies and 39.4% were still using alternative therapies. On the average the patients used alternative therapies for 9.4 months and they paid 483,000 Won per month for alternative therapies. Decisional criteria related to use of alternative therapy were curability, social group influence about alternative therapy, confidence in alternative therapy, present symptoms, and who decide on the use of alternative therapy. These variables in the alternative therapy group were statistically different from those of the hospital treatment only group. Conclusion: Utilization rate of alternative therapy among chemotherapy patients is high and cost burden is heavy. Thus, they need to be educated about utilization of alternative therapy by nurse and medical personnel.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2002

Obesity is a serious medical disorder because it can cause a myriad of health problems, such as heart disease, hypertension, and adult-onset diabetes. While conventional medical treatment for obesity has limitations, there is enormous public enthusiasm for complementary and alternative treatments of obesity. This article reviews currently commonly used complementary and alternative therapies for obesity, such as medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements and acupuncture. Beneficial effects and possible adverse effects associated with these treatment are discussed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.20 no.1 s.32
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• pp.239-249
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• 2007

Background : Allergic rhinitis is the most frequently occuring immunological disorder. It affects men, women and children and represents significant cost in terms of suffering and loss of productivity. Objective & Methods : We referred to the information through Entrex Pubmed from 2004 to 2007 January about alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis, 9 treatises. Results : About 9 treatises, 2 treatises were for the acupuncture treatment, I treatise was for the acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine, 2 treatises were for the single substance(butterbur, soy sauce ingredients), 1 treatise was for the homeopathic preparation, 1 treatise was for the ayur-veda herbal treatment, 1 treatise was for the ultraviolet light phototherapy, 1 treatise was for the systematic review of alternative medicine. Except 2 treatises for the acupuncture treatment, 6 treatises used the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled methods. As a result, we found 5 treatises that treat group had more improvement than control group, 3 treatises that treat group had no difference control group on effect significantly. 1 review article exhibited the most of alternative medical literatures were inadequate methodologically and therapeutic efficacy alternative treatment for allergic rhinitis was not supported by currently available evidence. Conclusion : We found that treatises about the alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis were more and more published. We were supposed that many internal treatises were published adequately by methodology to prove Korean medical treatment effects for allergic rhinitis.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.162-169
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• 1999

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine among 1,490 residents(339 households) in Suwon city. Methods: All respondents were asked about types, frequency, effects, side-effects, views, and cost of complementary or alternative medicine through a questionnaire from July 24th to 27th. Six therapies were investigated: diet; acupuncture/ massage/ chiropractic etc., mind control such as Ki/ Yoga/ spiritual therapy/ relaxation therapy etc.; nutritional supplements, cultural remedies; and Herb medications Results: The results of this survey were as follows: 35.6% of respondents had experiences with at least one or more types of complementary and alternative medicine. The average number of different types of therapies used was 3.4. More experience with various types of therapies were found among those respondents of higher education, older age group, higher income, married group, religious group than among the opposite groups of respondents. Herb medications were used most frequently(39.8%), followed by minor grains(37.9%), Ginseng(23.8%), Boshintang(21.5%), acupuncture(20.3%), Gaesojou(15.3%) Gingko nut(12.0%), mushroom(11.5%), Cupping therapy(10.2%), and black goat(0.0%). Acupuncture and Herb medications were used for treatment of hypertension the most frequently; minor grains or silkworm for treatment of diabetic mellitus; vegetables for treatment of obesity; acupuncture, Cupping Therapy, Herb medications for treatment of rheumatism; and acupuncture, Herb medications, or exercises for treatment of Cerebro Vascular Accident(CVA). The average costs of treatment were 108,000 Won for hypertension, 87,200 Won for diabetic mellitus, 16,800 Won for obesity, 68,800 Won for rheumatism, and 87,500 Won for CVA. Among 10.9% of respondents, there were 13 cases of side-effects with acupuncture, Herb medications, and Gaesojou. Among the cases of side-effects, majority was due to Herb medications. Respondents reported that Cupping Therapy was the most effective, followed by acupuncture, Ginseng, Gingko nut, Boshintang, black goat, minor grains, Gaesojou, Herb medications, vegetables, and mushroom. In response to the views of complementary and alternative medicine which they had used, they recommended minor grains first, followed by Ginseng, acupuncture, Gingko nut, Cupping Therapy, vegetables, Boshintang, black goat, mushroom and Herb medications. In contrast, they did not recommend Herb medications, acupuncture, nor Gaesojou. Conclusions: These findings indicate that many people use various complementary and alternative medicine without any guidelines for treatment of serious chronic diseases not even to invigorate themselves. It is, therefore, suggested that medical doctors or scientists verify the true effects or side-effects from the most common complementary or alternative therapies through experiments. Also medical doctors should provide a comfortable atmosphere for discussion among doctors and patients who would like to try these therapies.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.149-160
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• 2004

The primary purpose of this study was to describe psychological aspects of menopausal women who have experiences on alternative therapies, such as pomegranate tree fluid, life pack, evening primerose, zacro syrup, zacro pill, multi-vitamin, oriental medicine instead of estrogen. In order to have insights on the participants behaviors, this qualitative research was conducted. The participants in this study were six women who have been taking at least one of the alternative therapies to relieve the menopausal symptom. Data had been collected from November 2002 to May 2003. The interview questions were about motivations to seek the alternative therapy, menopausal symptoms, feelings or positive effects after the treatment. The interviews were recorded and transcribed into written documents. The method described by Giorgi was utilized for data analysis. The study results were as follows : 1. The participants sought the alternative therapy based on their own information or by friends' recommendations. The motivations of taking the therapy were to live younger and healthier by reliving menopausal symptoms including somatic symptoms, such as irregular menstruation, flushing sense, cold sweating, insomnia, dull headache, vagina dryness, cystitis after sexual intercourse, joint pain, nervousness, depression, skin dryness, and suppression of activity. 2. The participants expressed that they became more active and felt better with disappearing menopausal symptoms after about 2 to 3 weeks treatment. 3. The participants did not want to accept the fact that they had menopause, which caused avoidance of having medical diagnosis and medical treatment. They also did not want to let their spouses know about their symptoms. 4. The major reason of taking the alternative therapy was to avoid the side effects of estrogen therapy in spite of high costs of the alternative way. 5. The participants suggested that menopausal women needed to be educated about physical and psychological symptoms of menopause. They also needed to be informed about how to manage it. In conclusion, accurate information about foods and drugs utilized for the alternative therapy was needed. Medically proved methods to recognize positive effects and side effects were also necessary. These goals could be achieved by continuous medical observations and further research.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.137-149
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• 2009

Objectives: Pregnant women could have various diseases, but the treatment of medication has the limitation that could cause fetal injury. So pregnant women have used complementary and alternative medicine in the world, but korean medicine had not been actively studied on obstetrics. This study is to investigate efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine on obstetrics. Methods: We searched for papers which had pregnancy, obstetrics, complementary medicine, acupuncture and herb in the pubmed since 2000. Results: 41 papers were found. Acupuncture have the efficacy and safety on nausea, pelvic pain in pregnancy and breech presentation. Complementary alternative medicine had been studied as randomized controlled trial at various diseases in obstetric. But the method were without coordination, results were different from methods. So more clinical trials about complementary and alternative medicine would be needed. Massage and acupressure would be helpful for pregnant mood complaint. Conclusion: Complementary and alternative medicine has been proved as efficacy and safety in obstetrics, so complementary and alternative medicine would be helpful method in pregnant women. For making guidelines on complementary and alternative medicine treatment during pregnancy, more research will be needed.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.77-89
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• 2015

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze Korean clinical studies in Korean medicine and complementary and alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis and to propose for better methods of clinical studies and effective treatments on allergic rhinitis. Methods Electronic researches were performed with NDSL, RISS, KISTI, KISS, OASIS by keyword 'Allergic rhinitis'. Results The treatments used in 36 studies were herbal medicines, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, cupping, inject medicine to nasal cavity, aroma therapy, ointment, nasal cleansing solution, laser treatment, infra-red therapy, oxygen nebulizer, diet treatment, moxa-pellet treatment, mindfulness meditation and space-spine manipulation techniques. The most common acupoints were LI4 and LI20 (Large Intestine Meridian). The most common methods of assessment is subjective nasal symptoms. All studies using subjective nasal symptoms and quality of life as assessment methods to show valid results on the improvement of allergic rhinitis. Conclusions This study shows that Korean medicine and complementary and alternative medicine on allergic rhinitis are effective. It will be expected to use that various methods for allergic rhinitis and more clinical studies for allergic rhinitis and pediatric patients needed in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.279-302
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review systemically clinical trials on the trends of studies for Complementary Alternative Medicine in the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Methods: Through medical websites, foreign clinical literatures about complementary and alternative medicines of dysmenorrhea were searched. And domestic clinical literatures about dysmenorrhea, complementary and alternative treatment and oriental medicine treatment were searched using internet websites or hand-searching in National digital library, National assembly library, KISS, RISS. And then they were assessed by the assessment standard of Jadad scale and Classifying Recommendations. Results: 1. 15 foreign literatures and 36 domestic literatures were selected. 2. 4 foreign and 4 domestic clinical literatures were enough to satisfy over 2 points in Jadad score and recommendation level in Classifying Recommendations. 3. Some clinical trials were rated low in Jadad score since it was not easy to set control groups and keep blinding in clinical trials. 4. Some clinical trials were rated low in Classifying Recommendations since they did not carry out enough study about stability, side effect and follow-ups. Conclusion: To put clinical trials to practical use of Complementary Alternative Medicine in the treatment of dysmenorrhea, scientific and objective-based studies should be needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.563-568
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• 2000

Animal waste is a major agricultural waste or wastewater that requires appropriate treatment to prevent environmental pollution. In this presentation, it is examined if incineration of manure compost is an alternative to treatment of animal waste. Heating values of selected biomass including manure compost were obtained using a bomb calorimeter. Based on heating values of manure and manure compost, ranging from 1200 - 1500 kcal/kg on wet base, incineration could be an alternative for animal waste treatment if available land is limited for land application and sufficient reduction of water content in manure compost.