25 :Hepatophilic virus disease – TCM classification as “Wetness-heat vaporization form” Common symptoms (2) Hepatogenic peptic ulcer and gastric disease (III)

Ju (code 353) female, 10 years of age.  Her first visit was on December 1995, complaining, through the words of her mother, of repeated upper abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea and she was treated for many times by western and traditional Chinese medical doctors and was diagnosed as stomache ache and thereafter she took gastric drugs repeatedly for a long period.  In the past, she often had common cold and cough, profuse sputum, poor appetite and yellowish urine.

Physical examination: poorly nourished and underdeveloped, anemic and lean, tongue red without coating, liver enlarged to 1.5cm below costal margin, tenderness under xiphoid process in upper abdomen.  The liver returned to normal and clinical symptoms disappeared after 15 parcels of TCM medication.  Clinical cure was obtained after systemic TCM treatment for 8 weeks.  TCM treatment was stopped on March 1996 for observation.  Relapses occurred on June 1996, September 1997, October 1998 for 4 times and every time the liver was enlarged to the costal margin.  In two episodes, the clinical symptoms were common cold and fever (actually liver stagnation and lung dryness) and in the other two episodes, there were wetness-heat abdominal pain and diarrhea (wetness-heat vaporization).

After TCM therapy, the symptoms disappeared and every time after 3-6 days of TCM medication, the liver dullness became normal.  She was followed up for two more years and it was found that her health condition recovered significantly, her anemia was corrected.  Her body weight increased from 52 lbs to 76 lbs.  The last return visit was on January 1998 at which time she had a good appetite, no stomache ache or other uncomfortable feelings and her liver was normal.

Young (code 391) male, age 42 years.  He found that he had positive type B hepatitis antibodies two years ago when he first visited the clinic on July 1997.  He complained of pale yellowish color of the palms and in the recent ten years he often suffered from painful distension of the stomache, belching, acid regurgitation, profuse sputum, dryness of eyes and bluring of vision.  He had a post history of hematochezia (血便史) and also repeated urticaria (皮膚出風疹) and itching of skin.  He had been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years.

Physical examination: lean, tongue coating thin and yellowish, liver 1.5 cm below costal margin.  The diagnosis was chronic hepatitis complicated by hepatic peptic ulcer and German measles.

After 4 parcels of TCM drugs, he passed large amounts of loose, brownish stools twice a day and he also had vague pain of the abdomen.  The original distensive pain (脹痛) of the stomache and belching had decreased significantly and the liver had retracted to 1.5cm above costal margin.  TCM medication was continued and afterwards stomache ache disappeared but German measles still repeatedly occurred.  Four weeks later, the German measles were not seen any more and medication was stopped for observation.  Clinical sure was obtained at the completement of the 6 weeks course of systemic treatment.

During the year following clinical cure of the disease, 4 return visits had been made and the last visit was on September 1998.  By that time, the liver remained 1.5 cm above costal margin, there was no appearance of stomache ache and German measles and his subjective feeling was good.

Jong (code 1468) female, 23 years of age.  Her first visit was on July 1997.  She complained of repeated stomache ache and abdominal pain and had gastroscopy examinations several times with normal results.  She had recurrent vertigo (反覆眩暈), acid regurgitation, vomiting and even vomiting right after ingestion of food, the vomits being food remnants.  She often coughed out greenish sputum, had difficulty of breathing during sleep and also had shortness of breath.  Menstruation appeared monthly, the color brownish, amount scanty but with blood clots and serious dysmenorrhea (嚴重經痛).

Physical examination: lean, tongue coating thin and white, marked tenderness over upper abdomen, percussion tenderness over hepatic region, liver 1.5 cm below costal margin.  The impression was : hepatomegaly to be diagnosed, hepatic peptic ulcer, hepatogenic upper respiratory tract inflammation, dysmenorrhea (composed of symptoms of 3 forms: liver stagnation and lung dryness, wetness-heat vaporization, blockage of channels and blood stasis).

After taking 3 parcels of TCM drugs, the liver returned to normal, its lower margin retraced to 1.5 cm above costal margin, but there was still abdominal distension and pain, poor appetite, increase of flatus and large amount of brownish stools.  The urine was yellowish and she had vertigo and skin itching.  Physical examination revealed a soft abdomen, local tenderness over the lower left and upper abdomen and increase of peristalsis.  She took altogether 34 parcels of TCM drugs to complete the course of systemic treatment and thereafter the clinical symptoms disappeared.  Menstruation occurred on August, the amount decreased, the color bright red and without dysmenorrhea. There was no pruritus (搔痒) of skin and no edema.  The pulse was 76 per minute.  Medication was stopped on account of the attainment of clinical cure.