A Case of Chronic Nummular Dermatitis Improved by Hwangryunagyo-tang

Ju-Hyun Lee; Sang-Bae Lee; Eun-Heui Jo; Min-Cheol Park; Lee, Ju-Hyun; Lee, Sang-Bae; Jo, Eun-Heui; Park, Min-Cheol

doi:10.13048/jkm.24014

JKM > Volume 45(1); 2024 > Article

Lee, Lee, Jo, and Park: A Case of Chronic Nummular Dermatitis Improved by Hwangryunagyo-tang

Case Report

The Journal of Korean Medicine 2024; 45(1): 213-222.

Published online: March 1, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13048/jkm.24014

A Case of Chronic Nummular Dermatitis Improved by Hwangryunagyo-tang

Ju-Hyun Lee¹

, Sang-Bae Lee²

, Eun-Heui Jo³^{, 4}^{, *}

, Min-Cheol Park⁴^{, 5}^{, *}

¹Department of Medical Support, Imsil-gun Medical Center, Imsil, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

²Bugang Korean Medicine Clinic, Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

³Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Wonkwang University Korean Medicine Hospital, Deokjingu, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

⁴Research Center of Traditional Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

⁵Department of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Dermatology, Wonkwang University Korean Medicine Hospital, Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to: Eun-Heui Jo, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Wonkwang University Korean Medicine Hospital, 99, Garyeonsan-ro, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, 54887, Republic of Korea, Tel: +82-63-270-1022, Fax: +82-63-270-1199, E-mail: freezo@wonkwang.ac.kr

Corresponding author: Min-Cheol Park, Department of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Dermatology, Wonkwang University Korean Medicine Hospital, 895 Muwang-ro, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do, 54538, Republic of Korea, Tel: +82-63-859-2821, Fax: +82-63-841-0033, E-mail: spinx11@wonkwang.ac.kr

Received December 13, 2023 Revised February 9, 2024 Accepted February 16, 2024

Abstract

Objectives

This study aims to report a case of chronic nummular dermatitis improved by Hwangryunagyo-tang.

Methods

The patient in this study was a 15-year-old female, who visited our hospital with symptoms such as redness, erythema, papule, excoriation, scale, exudation, crusting, lichenification, and pruritus of the extremities and trunk. Considering that the skin lesions were coin-shaped and persisted for more than 6 months, the patient’s symptoms were diagnosed as chronic nummular eczema. Based on the patient’s symptoms and overall condition, Hwangryunagyo-tang was prescribed.

Results

Approximately 4 months after administration of Hwangryunagyo-tang, the exudate disappeared, and overall skin symptoms improved, from objective score 33.7 to 6.6, leaving only slight scale, dryness, and pigmentation. As the pruritus of the skin lesion decreased from numeric rating scale 8 to 1, the patient’s sleeping condition also improved from numeric rating scale 9 to 0.

Conclusion

This study is significant in that the symptoms of chronic nummular dermatitis were effectively improved after administration of Hwangryunagyo-tang.

Keywords: Case Report, Nummular Dermatitis, Traditional Medicine, Hwangryunagyo-tang

Fig. 1

Treatment Timeline

Fig. 2

Clinical Progress of Nummular Dermatitis

Table 1

Symptom Evaluation Index

			Symptom Level
Objective Symptoms	Severity	Redness	0=Absence 1=Mild 2=Moderate 3=Severe
		Erythema
		Papule
		Excoriation
		Scale
		Exudation
		Crusting
		Lichenification

		Area	0 ~ 100 (%)

Subjective Symptoms		Pruritus	0 (None) ~ 10 (Severe)
Subjective Symptoms		Sleep Loss	0 (None) ~ 10 (Severe)

Table 2

Prescription of Hwangryunagyo-tang

Name of Natural Medicine (Herbal Medicine)		Weight(g)
黃連	Coptis chinensis Franch.	4
阿膠	Colla corii asini	3
黃芩	Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi	1
芍藥	Paeonia lactiflora Pall.	2
鷄子	Gallus gallus domesticus	3
Total Amount		13

Table 3

Symptom Progress of Nummular Dermatitis

		2022.05.25	2022.08.05	2022.09.14
Objective Symptoms	Redness	2	1	0
	Erythema	2	1	1
	Papule	3	1	0
	Excoriation	2	1	1
	Scale	3	1	1
	Exudation	3	0	0
	Crusting	2	1	1
	Lichenification	2	1	0

	Area	14.7	7.5	2.6

Subjective Symptoms	Pruritus	8	2	1
Subjective Symptoms	Sleep Loss	9	1	0

Total		50.7	17.5	7.6

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