Efficacy of Tokishakuyakusan add‐on therapy with low‐dose oral contraceptive pills on endometriosis patients with dysmenorrhea

Fuminori Taniguchi, Yohei Tokita, Ikuko Ota, Emiko Yamane, Hiroaki Komatsu, Yukihiro Azuma, Eri Sato, Yusuke Endo, Hiroshi Sunada, Tasuku Harada
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research · 2020 · vol. 46(11) , pp. 2280–2286 · doi:10.1111/jog.14424 · PMID:32840017 · W3080259593
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

Tokishakuyakusan add-on therapy with low-dose oral contraceptives did not significantly improve endometriosis patients' overall quality of life but did show moderate improvements in cold feeling and patient satisfaction.

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Abstract

AIM: Tokishakuyakusan (TSS) is representative of popular Kampo medicines for Japanese women to treat dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation and menopause. Current hormonal treatments and low-dose oral contraceptives (OCs) used as a first-choice drug for primary symptoms, however, have a high incidence of adverse events without improving patients' satisfaction. We evaluated the efficacy of TSS as additional treatment on the quality of life (QOL) of patients taking OCs with reduced therapeutic satisfaction. METHODS: Twelve patients treated with OCs for endometriosis were enrolled. TSS (7.5 g/day) in combination with OCs were given for three menstrual cycles. The main outcome was the degree of QOL assessed using the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 (EHP-30). Secondary outcomes were the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ), patient's satisfaction using a Likert scale and cold feeling-visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: In EHP-30, significant changes by TSS with OCs in each menstrual cycle were not found, although the scores for pain and emotional well-being tended to decrease. In MDQ, water retention in the premenstrual phase was improved. With regard to cold feeling-VAS, 61.6 mm at pretreatment decreased to 31.3 mm at the endpoint. Average Likert scale values after TSS treatment declined from 4.3 to 2.6. Cold feeling and patient's satisfaction have improved. CONCLUSION: Although the influence of TSS add-on therapy on QOL was moderate, possible improvement of cold feeling and menstruation-related symptoms was suggested.

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Outcome instruments

EHP-30 VAS-pain

Condition tags

mesh:D004412mesh:D004715endometriosisdysmenorrhea

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Quality of Life Contraceptives, Oral Drugs, Chinese Herbal Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Female Humans

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