Special Report

Chinese Qigong Acupressure Therapy in a Child with Status Epilepticus after Drowning

(Supplementary material 3.)

Lisa Li-Chen Hsieh¹, Sheue-Feng Wu²

¹ Ji-Din Clinic, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

² National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Abstract

A two-year-old unconscious girl with status epilepticus could not voice and swallow due to drowning. She had bodily rigidity, opisthotonos and curly limbs. Arrest of development was also noted. She received many treatments, including antiepileptic drugs therapy during one-year after drowning. However, there was no significant benefit effect after these therapies. Therefore, she started receiving intensive Qigong acupressure therapy when she was more than 3 years old. After about half-year treatment of Qigong acupressure, she had no opisthotonos and limbs curl. In addition, flexible body and relaxed limbs were found after this therapy. She could eat without dysphagia but she was still unconscious.

Keywords：Qigong Acupressure、Tonic seizure、Drowning、Status Epilepticus

Introduction

Bronchospasm can result in asphyxia, throat convulsion or cardiac arrest. Furthermore, it can also result in aspiration pneumonia, hypoxic encephalopathy and serious hypoxia in various tissue. Not only impairment of organs function, such as lung, nerve, digestive system or urinary system, but also death can be found. Unconsciousness, paroxysmal epilepsy, tonic seizure or convulsion will be noted after resuscitation of drowning children.

Taking anti-epilepsy drugs is the main therapy of epilepsy. We can control seizure by stabilizing areas of abnormal brain discharge. Unfortunately, some patients with seizure are intractable. Specifically, status epilepticus is persistent and serial attacks and there is no recovery period between two attacks. Moreover, tonic seizure will be critical because of organ or tissue impairment. To control seizure, except for taking drugs, special food therapy or operation can be considered. If operation is not suitable or acceptable, change drugs or increasing dosage of drugs are the only method to continue treat epilepsy. However, the longer status epilepticus present, the more serious impairment of brain, organs and tissues happen, such as opisthotonos, curly limbs and rigidity and arrest of development. Therapy is limited for relieving or improving these symptoms/signs in the hospital and clinics.

From the views of human anatomy or physiological function, hence, it is the best method to treat seizure through restoring of tissue and organs. Acupuncture point, located in body surface, is the key to control human automatic power system. It can affect the physiological function via acupuncture point. Acupressure, using the energy of fingers substitutes for the needle in acupuncture, is the effective therapy because it can start automatic repairing and improving defects through controlling acupuncture points of patients for the treatment of a lesion. On the one hand it can enhance the effect of therapy due to mandatory intervention of energy, “Chi” transferred to patients, and on the other hand it can avoid directly invasive injury like as acupuncture.

Chinese Qigong acupressure therapy was proved in previous studies.[1] The greatest feature of acupressure therapy is starting human automatic repair system. Its principle is controlling multiple direction of the physiological function by acupuncture point because we can stimulate and control the tissue or organ restore and development through Chi. Chinese Qigong acupressure therapy had significantly effect for the adjustment, change and correction of human structure or physiological function. Chinese Qigong acupressure therapy had good effect during the growth of infant, especially infant with stunting, abnormal physiological function or limbs deformity, it can transfer the energy via acupuncture point, which leads to forcing to change physiological function, enhancing repair and correcting the deformity of limbs.

History of this case

The girl was more than 3 years old (birth in 2006). She drowned because of falling into the shrimp pond and she suffered from pneumonia, hypoxic encephalopathy and infection when she was two years old. Status epilepticus was noted after this episode. In addition, the child with unconsciousness cannot voice. Nasogastric tube feeding was done due to dysphagia. Though spontaneous respiratory was noted, she was emaciated and arrest of development was noted.

She had bodily rigidity, opisthotonos, limbs curl, limbs deformity, skeletal hypoplasia and maldigestion. She received many treatments, including antiepileptic drugs therapy during one-year after drowning. However, there was no significant benefit effect after these therapies.

Chinese Qigong Acupressure Therapy

The patient with more than 3 years old received Chinese Qigong Acupressure therapy on May, 2009. A total of 120 courses was performed and about 30 minutes per course spent. Two aspects of treatment were considered: (1) The defect of physiological function: such as swallowing, breathing, digestion, stopping development, etc. They can be restored, continue to grow or strengthened after transferring the energy via the stimulation of acupuncture points. (2) Malformation of limbs: such as skeletal hypoplasia, deformity, tendon stiffness or contracture of ligament/tendon, rigidity, opisthotonos and curly limbs. To transfer the energy, it can relax the structure of joint and enlarge the space of growth.

Furthermore, the growth of muscle, bone and tendon can be enhanced by the stimulation of associated acupuncture points. At the same time, the coordination function and strength of its operation can be adjusted. The patient maintained her general life style as usual during courses of Qigong acupressure therapy, and she did not receive rehabilitation treatment from the hospital or clinic at the same time. Height, weight and head circumference were collected after the course of Qigong acupressure therapy. We also observed the application of muscle groups, such as posture, muscle tone including degree of opisthotonus, the degree of relaxation in her hands/feet and the function of deglutition, etc.

Results

The more than 3-year-old patient had status epilepticus, bodily rigidity, curly limbs, opisthotonos, dysphagia and arrest of development (Figure 1) before receiving Qigong acupressure therapy. Though she was still unconscious, she could oral feeding because restore the function of swallow after this therapy. Moreover, status epilepticus no more occurred and opisthotonos disappeared because of relaxation of general muscle, tendon and ligaments. In addition, the function of swallowing was progressed day by day, and body weight gained during the period of therapy. (Figure 2-5)

The mechanism of physiological function has a close interaction effect between these systems, especially the influence of the brain on the whole body. Seizure is caused by abnormal discharge in the cerebrum. As far as common sense is concerned, it is reasonable to start treatment from the brain. But it is not easy to treat and time consuming because the brain structure is complex. It will delay to treat if we can't quickly deal with the epilepticus. The treatment pathway of Qigong acupressure can separate the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system of the brain independently; therefore, the treatment plan in this case was that prioritized the problems of peripheral nervous system, and then the central nervous system. Unfortunately, the therapy was stopped even though effective results were noted because the patient was dead due to virus infection which was transmitted by her family. The experience of Qigong acupressure therapy on the unconscious state of vegetative people, whether it can affect the central nervous system, and restore and development of the brain function, was limited. We proved that Qigong acupressure therapy is effective for unconscious patients with status epilepticus. It can improve these symptoms/signs, such as rigidity, opisthotonos and curly limbs, via peripheral system and relieved her critical condition. It can deal with the medical dilemma. Though the effect of central nerve system in Qigong acupressure therapy was not proved in this case, further study on the Qigong acupressure therapy for the injury of central nerve system should be performed.

Discussion

The effect of a patient with status epilepticus post the treatment of Chinese Qigong Acupressure Status epilepticus was developed, which resulted in her unconsciousness, stunting growth, impaired physiological function and deformity of limbs in the drowning infant. There are various causes of these symptoms or signs. Some symptoms/signs can be improved and some cannot. This case caused by drowning and no curable treatment was known. Only the palliative care was for her. However, taking anti-seizure drugs was not effective. She missed the golden period of treatment because she started receiving intensive Qigong acupressure therapy at one-year later after drowning. It was more complicated than the simple drowning because of drowning in the cloudy shrimp pond. Serious infection occurred, especially the brain infection, which resulted in status epilepticus, opisthotonos and curly limbs. It was critical and fatal if these problems cannot be solved. Any treatment is only a measure to delay the time of death. The major effect of Chinese Qigong acupressure was controlling status epilepticus. It can enhance physical energy because Chi” transferred to patients and mandatory intervention of the function of muscle or skeletal system due to affecting peripheral nerve via acupuncture point. It also enhanced human automatic repair function to correct the malformation of limbs through relaxation of muscle and restore the function of swallowing. Furthermore, the growth was restarted and improved the function of muscle and bone progressively. Therefore, height body weight gained after this therapy.