Developing indicators of pattern identification in patients with stroke using traditional Korean medicine

BACKGROUND: The traditional Korean medical diagnoses employ pattern identification (PI), a diagnostic system that entails the comprehensive analysis of symptoms and signs. The PI needs to be standardized due to its ambiguity. Therefore, this study was performed to establish standard indicators of the PI for stroke through the traditional Korean medical literature, expert consensus and a clinical field test. METHODS: We sorted out stroke patterns with an expert committee organized by the Korean Institute of Oriental Medicine. The expert committee composed a document for a standardized pattern of identification for stroke based on the traditional Korean medical literature, and we evaluated the clinical significance of the document through a field test. RESULTS: We established five stroke patterns from the traditional Korean medical literature and extracted 117 indicators required for diagnosis. The indicators were evaluated by a field test and verified by the expert committee. CONCLUSIONS: This study sought to develop indicators of PI based on the traditional Korean medical literature. This process contributed to the standardization of traditional Korean medical diagnoses.