Clinical Practice Pattern of Korean Medicine Doctors in Idiopathic Short Stature Treatment: A Survey Study

BACKGROUND: Korean medicine (KM) interventions are attractive for children with idiopathic short stature (ISS). We investigated the real-world clinical practice patterns of KM doctors in ISS treatment. METHODS: The survey targeted KM doctors who have treated patients with ISS in KM clinical settings for >3 years. We included questions on the diagnosis and treatment patterns, effects, cost, and opinions of doctors on KM treatment for ISS. A frequency analysis was performed. RESULTS: There were 58 respondents, and “heights of parents” (n = 57, 98.3%), “height, weight, and growth rate of child” (n = 55, 94.8%), and “amount of meals, digestive function” (n = 52, 89.7%) were frequently used as indicators for diagnosis and treatment. The most frequently used KM interventions were “herbal medicine” (n = 58, 100%), “acupuncture” (n = 49, 84.5%), “moxibustion” (n = 38, 65.5%), “dry cupping” (n = 26, 44.8%), and “physiotherapy” (n = 22, 37.9%). Herbal medicines were generally prescribed to tonify the spleen or kidney, and the most frequently used individual herbs were Acanthopanacis cortex, Astragali Radix, and Cervi parvum cornu. The most common acupuncture points were ST36, GB34, SP6, EX-LE5, and LI4. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the use of KM for ISS in real-world clinical settings. In the future, well-designed clinical studies to verify the effect of KM treatment on ISS based on real-world clinical practice patterns should be actively performed.