Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine-integrated institutional long-term care system: a preliminary report

• Main Authors: Ching Wei Yang, 楊晉瑋
• Other Authors: S. H. Yang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/cb585t

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 中醫學系傳統中醫學 === 106 === Objective: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-integrated institutional long-term care system. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two patients in the nursing home of Taoyuan Chang Gung memorial hospital were included in this prospective study. To explore the role of TCM in long-term care system, quality of life, heart rate viability (HRV),frequency of transferred to the emergency department or admission, and satisfaction of caregivers were used to evaluate the efficacy of TCM. The results were analyzed by paired t-test or Chi-square test via SPSS (version 19.0) and P-value less than 0.05 was significant. Results: The quality of life such as constipation (P=0.008), lower back pain (P=0.028), and depression (P=0.020) were improved. HRV exam showed elevated levels of SDNN (P=0.012), RMSSD (P=0.011), TP (P=0.024), LF (P=0.015), or LF/HF (P=0.012). There was no difference in the number of emergency and hospitalization before and after TCM intervention.More than fifty percent of primary caregivers satisfied and agreed that TCM was helpful for patients in long-term care facility. Conclusion: This article was the first pilot study to explore the therapeutic efficacy of TCM combined with conventional western medicine among patients in long-term care system in Taiwan. We found the improvement of quality of life and autonomic nervous function. The efficacy of TCM for elderly disability was agreed by caregivers. No severe adverse complications happened during TCM treatment. It will need more patients and more rigorous clinical studies to confirm the true adjuvant medical value in the future. Keywords: long-term care, elderly disability, traditional Chinese medicine, quality of life, heart rate viability