The Effect of Hachimi-Jio-Gan (Ba-Wei-Di-Huang-Wan) on the Quality of Life in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease - A Prospective Study Using Kampo Medicine.

Objective: To assess whether Hachimi-jio-gan (HJG), a preparation of Kampo medicine (traditional Japanese medicine), improves quality of life (QOL) in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Materials and Methods: Among the patients with PAD being followed in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center, those with intermittent claudication (IC) and in stable condition regarding PAD severity were registered. We registered the patients from April 2014 to March 2015. We administered HJG extract for 6 months to the patients. The primary endpoint was Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) score, which was approved as an indicator of QOL of the patient with PAD. We assessed WIQ score both before and after administration of the HJG. Results: We analyzed 14 patients. WIQ items of pain, distance, and speed improved significantly. Furthermore, the median of the total score of WIQ improved significantly from 162.5 points to 308.0 points. All patients showed improvement in the total score and 7 patients out of 14 patients (50%) showed a remarkably effective improvement in score of more than 100 points. Conclusion: HJG might improve the QOL in patients with IC due to PAD.