Analysis of Kampo case reports from the viewpoint of “Yasui Classification”

Background The “Yasui Classification” categorizes the indication for Kampo medicine into four main types in the medical field where standard treatment of Western medicine exists regardless of the school of Kampo medicine. We aimed to elucidate how Kampo case reports are presented from the viewpoint of the Yasui Classification. Methods Using the general presentations at the 69th Japan Society for Oriental Medicine (JSOM) Academic Meeting held in Osaka in June 2018, the contents of each abstract were analyzed with the Yasui Classification. Results There were 289 abstracts. The numbers of included abstracts was 140 (48.4%), and their breakdown was as follows: Type 1: 97, Type 2: 27, Type 3: 12, and Type 4: 4. Therefore, Kampo monotherapy yielded the greatest number of presentations where Western medicine‐refractory cases were treated with Kampo medicine. In Type 2, which is the combination of Kampo and Western medicines, there were various applications of Kampo medicine in clinical fields such as pain control, respiratory, cardiovascular, and psychiatric subspecialties. Furthermore, in Type 3, which is also the combination of Kampo and Western medicines, 7 of 12 presentations were related to the alleviation of the side effects of cancer therapy. Conclusions Kampo monotherapy is most popularly reported at the Congress of JSOM in various fields of medicine, whereas the concurrent use of Kampo and Western medicines is also reported in a variety of clinical subspecialties. A new horizon of clinical significance for Kampo medicine will be opened with the Yasui Classification.