A Case Study of a Patient Who Discontinued Diuretics due to Hyponatremia and Was Treated with Korean Medicine for Ascites

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined a case of an 80-year-old woman with extensive ascites and hypervolemic hyponatremia due to decompensated liver cirrhosis.Methods: The patient was first treated with a diuretic to treat her ascites. However, during hospitalization, she developed hypervolemic hyponatremia due to liver cirrhosis. Therefore, we discontinued the diuretic and treated her with Korean herbal medicine (Insamyangyoung-tang with Oryeong-san). We measured her abdominal circumference, followed by radiography, to evaluate the effect of Korean herbal medicine.Result: We treated the patient only with Korean medicine and without diuretics, and her ascites was successfully reduced. No recurrence was observed.Conclusion: Korean herbal medicine can be used as an adjuvant therapy for patients with ascites and hyponatremia.