Functional improvement of deglutition after hangekobokuto treatment in two cases: Endoscopy and fluoroscopy evaluation

Case Patients with dysphagia frequently suffer from aspiration pneumonia, are frequently hospitalized, and are often deprived of the joys of eating. Although dysphagia is life-threatening, treatment for dysphagia is still limited. Recently, the effectiveness of hangekobokuto (Banxia-houpo-tang in Chinese; HKT) for dysphagia has attracted attention. We treated two dysphagic patients with HKT and evaluated deglutition before and after HKT treatment on imaging. Outcome The first patient was a 69-year-old alcoholic liver-cirrhosis patient who was diagnosed with dysphagia after hospital admission, and the second patient was a 92-year-old aspiration pneumonia patient. After treating the chief complaint, HKT (TJ-16) extract (7.5 g/day) was given and continued indefinitely. Deglutition before and after HKT commencement was evaluated on video endoscopy and video fluoroscopy, respectively. Deglutition after the treatment was monitored visually. Conclusion Deglutition improved after HKT treatment, as judged on endoscopy and fluoroscopy.