Rikkunshito improves globus sensation in patients with proton-pump inhibitor-refractory laryngopharyngeal reflux

Figure 1 Effects of proton-pump inhibitor monotherapy and subsequent treatment with rikkunshito alone or rikkunshito plus proton-pump inhibitor on visual analog scale scores for globus sensation in patients with proton-pump inhibitor-refractory laryngopharyngeal reflux. Proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) monotherapy was delivered for at least 2 wk prior to the experiment. Each value represents the mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05, significantly different from the visual analog scale (VAS) score at week 0 in each group (paired t test). No significant between-group differences were found at any time point.

Figure 2 Effects of rikkunshito alone and rikkunshito plus proton-pump inhibitor on gastric emptying in patients with proton-pump inhibitor-refractory laryngopharyngeal reflux. Each value represents the mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05, significantly different from the number of markers at week 0 in the rikkunshito + proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) group (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). We found no significant difference between treatment groups after the 4-wk treatment period (Wilcoxon rank-sum test).

Figure 3 Correlation between improvement in globus sensation and improvement in gastric emptying. The improvement in globus sensation calculation based on pre- and post-treatment visual analog scale (VAS) scores using the following formula: Improvement (%) = [(pre-score) - (post-score)]/(post-score) × 100. Pre-score: VAS score before the start of rikkunshito or rikkunshito + proton-pump inhibitor treatment; Post-score: VAS score after the 4-wk treatment period. Improvement in gastric emptying was calculated based on the number of markers in the stomach before and after treatment.