A Trend Analysis of Case Reports and Case Series on Hwa-byung in Korea

Objectives: This study aimed to provide a basis for treatment of Hwa-byung, a mental disorder frequently found among Koreans, by analysing published case reports and case series. Methods: In June 2015, a literature search for case reports and case series describing interventions for Hwa-byung was conducted in 7 databases for research publications in Korea, using Korean and English terms. Results: Thirty-two papers, reporting 439 cases of Hwa-byung, met the inclusion criteria. Since the first case report on Hwa-byung in 1996, case reports were continuously published until 2012. A total of 22 interventions were described, of which herbal medicine (71.9%), acupuncture (65.6%), and moxibustion (34.4%) were the most frequently described interventions. Twenty-five papers reported patterns, for which liver qi depression (28%) was most frequently used. A total of 48 outcome measures were used in 32 papers, of which Beck Depression Index (46.9%) and Symptom change (43.8%) were used in at least 10 papers. Conclusions: Since only 32 case reports/case series have been published on Hwa-byung in Korea, a strong basis for recommending standardized treatments is lacking. Therefore, a sufficient number of clinical studies, in particular randomized clinical trials (RCTs), are warranted to provide a clinical basis for treatment of Hwa-byung.