Herbal therapy treatment in thromboangiitis obliterans: a retrospective clinical study

Background: Critical limb ischemia in patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO, Buerger's disease) is associated with refractory rest pain, gangrene, and increased rates of amputation. Tuoju lotion was prepared by the Pharmacy Department of Dongfang Hospital. The focus of the study is to elicit the efficacy of the addition of Herbal therapy treatment to conventional treatment in TAO patients with severe extremity pain and to assess any statistically significant benefits in patient's pain control at rest. We fund that the addition of herbal therapy treatment can augment conventional treatments in TAO patients by improving or eliminating intermittent claudication symptoms, prolonging claudication distance, and reducing total blood viscosity. At the same time, Tuoju lotion can improve microcirculation status in the short term. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of topical Herbal therapy treatment on patient outcomes in patients with TAO.

Methods: Seventy patients with TAO treated between January 2009 and July 2019 were included in a retrospective analysis of a single university hospital vascular center. Forty patients received topical herbal treatment in addition to conventional therapy and were compared to a control group who received standard treatment alone (n=30).

Results: Patients in both, the experimental and control group, were matched according to age and gender. There was no significant difference in course of disease and past medical history between the two groups. The mean ankle brachial index (ABI), toe pressure, and blood viscosity were also similar in both groups. Rest pain score (baseline VAS 4.76±2.87, post-treatment 3.32±1.29) and walking distance (baseline 169.7±23.6 m, post-treatment 284.5±32.3 m) significantly improved in the herbal treatment group. ABI values improved and total blood viscosity decreased in both groups with no significant difference between the herbal and conservative treatment arms. However, the arterial blood pressure ratio in the lower extremity stage showed no difference between the superficial femoral artery and the popliteal artery.

Conclusions: The addition of Herbal therapy treatment to conventional treatment in TAO patients with severe extremity pain was associated with a reduction of rest pain and intermittent claudication.