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

Table 2 Effects of rikkunshito and rikkunshito plus proton-pump inhibitor treatments on sore throat and excessive throat clearing in patients with proton-pump inhibitor-refractory laryngopharyngeal reflux

	Week	Visual analog scale score (mean ± SD)
		A: Rikkunshito	B: Rikkunshito + PPI	P (A vs B)
Sore throat		(n = 4)	(n = 5)
	-2	35.4 ± 21.6	44.3 ± 30.5	0.730
	0	24.0 ± 28.1	45.2 ± 28.4	0.234
	4	24.8 ± 32.8	31.8 ± 30.2a	0.538
Excessive throat clearing		(n = 4)	(n = 8)
	-2	48.0 ± 12.8	40.8 ± 32.5	1.000
	0	37.2 ± 21.5	45.7 ± 25.0	0.514
	4	39.8 ± 34.9	25.7 ± 24.2	0.569

Each value represents the mean ± SD.

^aP < 0.05, significantly different from the visual analog scale score at week 0 in each group (paired t test). No significant differences were found between the rikkunshito and rikkunshito plus proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) treatments at any time point.