Long-term integrative personalized medicine care in massive brainstem hemorrhage: A CARE-compliant case report.

Authors

Ye-Vin Lee, Jonghun Ahn, Euiju Lee, Chelin Park, Eui-Jin Son, Ja Yeon Jeong

Published in

Medicine. Volume 105. Issue 40. Pages e50954. Oct 02, 2026.

Abstract

Brainstem hemorrhage is a rare but devastating subtype of intracerebral hemorrhage that frequently presents with impaired consciousness, quadriplegia, and recurrent infections. Integrative personalized medicine care (IPMC), which combines essential conventional treatments with personalized traditional Korean medicine interventions, has been suggested to improve functional outcomes and support immune regulation. By closely monitoring a patient with massive brainstem hemorrhage treated with IPMC, we observed neurological improvement, effective control of recurrent infections and inflammation, and sustained safety of long-term herbal medications.
A 48-year-old female patient with a brainstem hemorrhage was managed at Kyung Hee University Hospital with IPMC for posthemorrhagic functional impairment and recurrent infection.
The patient was diagnosed with a massive pontine hemorrhage with posthemorrhagic functional impairment and recurrent infection.
The patient received conventional treatment and integrative personalized traditional Korean medicine interventions, including herbal medications and acupuncture.
We retrospectively analyzed the 2-year clinical course of the patient who received IPMC to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the treatment. Functional outcomes and inflammation control were assessed using standardized scales (modified Barthel index, Korean mini-mental state examination, Glasgow Coma Scale, global deterioration scale, level of consciousness, manual muscle testing, and Fugl-Meyer assessment) and hematological markers (C-reactive protein, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammation response index). Liver and renal functions were monitored through laboratory tests (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate). Regarding the efficacy of IPMC, functional improvements in neurological and motor outcomes were observed throughout the treatment period. Dependence on antibiotics progressively decreased, whereas the proportion of herbal medication-centered treatments increased. Infections with C-reactive protein levels <2.0 mg/dL were effectively managed with herbal medications alone. Furthermore, despite the long-term use of combined treatments, no hepatotoxicity or nephrotoxicity was observed, confirming the safety of IPMC.
This case demonstrates the efficacy and safety of IPMC, which integrates herbal medications with conventional treatment, for managing posthemorrhagic functional impairment and recurrent infections. These findings provide a foundation for future prospective studies. Further research is required to strengthen this evidence and validate the effectiveness of IPMC.

PMID:
42826283
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Oct 2026.

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