A Case Report of Acute Primary Pontine Hemorrhage with One-and-a-Half Syndrome, Vertigo, and Paresthesia Treated with Eastern-Western Integrative Medicine

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to report the improvement of a patient with one-and-a-half syndrome, vertigo, and paresthesia caused by acute primary pontine hemorrhage (PPH) after a combination treatment of traditional Korean and Western medicine.Case report: A 51-year-old female with one-and-a-half syndrome, vertigo, and paresthesia after PPH was treated with Korean medicine, including herbal medication, acupuncture, and moxibustion, and Western medicine, including medication and rehabilitation therapy during hospitalization. Her progress was evaluated by checking for changes in symptoms with the extraocular muscle (EOM) function test, numeral rating scale (NRS), and follow-up brain computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After 41 days of treatment, the EOM movement was improved, leaving limited abduction of the left eye. The NRS scores for vertigo and paresthesia decreased from 10 to 5 and from 10 to 3, respectively. Improvement was noted in hematoma in MRI, but a new ischemic lesion was also discovered.Conclusion: This case reports the clinical course of one-and-a-half syndrome and suggests that a combined therapy of traditional Korean and Western medicine can be useful for PPH patients with one-and-a-half syndrome, vertigo, and paresthesia. However, studies of larger populations are required.