Integrative traditional Korean medicine treatment for elderly post-stroke functional constipation: A CARE-compliant case report

In treating constipation, pharmacotherapy is known to cause various adverse drug reactions. This therapy includes the use of laxatives, which may not be safe for the treatment of elderly patients. Traditional Korean Medicine has been widely used for a long time to treat various gastrointestinal symptoms, such as constipation. A 70-year-old male patient had no history of constipation, but complained of constipation with abdominal distention and inability to pass stool occurring after the initiation of pharmacotherapy after his stroke. The patient was diagnosed with post-stroke constipation that lasted for more than 1 month. Acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and moxibustion were performed for 3 weeks. Each session was performed for 15 min. In addition, herbal medications were administered for 15 days. As a result, the Numeric Rating Scale score for abdominal distention and inability to pass stool reduced and most of the constipation-related discomfort improved. This case report demonstrates that integrative traditional Korean medicine can be effective for the treatment of post-stroke constipation in elderly patients.

Keywords: Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture; Moxibustion; Post-stroke constipation; Traditional Korean Medicine.