Observational studyMedicine2026
Exploratory analysis of real-world use and safety of traditional Korean medicine in pediatric epilepsy: A retrospective observational study.
Observational study in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Given the limitations of conventional antiepileptic drugs and the growing need for complementary approaches, traditional Korean medicine has gained interest as a potential treatment option for pediatric and adolescent epilepsy. However, real-world clinical data on its use and safety remain limited. This exploratory study aimed to retrospectively investigate the real-world clinical use and safety of traditional Korean medicine in this population by analyzing medical records from 2 Korean medicine hospitals. A total of 54 patients were included. Demographic characteristics, growth-related indicators, seizure-related indicators, treatment patterns, follow-up duration, antiepileptic drug use, and adverse events were reviewed retrospectively. The mean age at seizure onset was 4.9 ± 4.9 years. Over a mean follow-up duration of 21.6 months, patients had an average of 10.2 ± 13.6 clinical visits and received heterogeneous treatment patterns, including herbal medicine decoction, herbal medicine formulation, and acupuncture. Mean height increased from 122.4 ± 27.6 to 134.0 ± 24.5 cm, and mean weight increased from 29.6 ± 22.1 to 34.9 ± 20.5 kg. Mean seizure frequency decreased from 0.7 ± 1.2 times per day at baseline to 0.2 ± 0.5 times per day during the follow-up period (P = .002). Antiepileptic drug regimens remained largely unchanged during the study period among patients with available medication data. Mild adverse events were reported in 5 patients (nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea), all of which resolved without serious complications. This study provides real-world insights into the clinical use and tolerability of traditional Korean medicine treatment in pediatric and adolescent epilepsy. Although therapeutic efficacy cannot be established due to the absence of a control group, these findings offer foundational data to support future hypothesis-driven studies assessing the safety and potential effectiveness of traditional Korean medicine in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.