Real-world evidence on the safety and effectiveness of integrative Korean medicine for older patients post-traffic accident: A retrospective observational study

With the rapid aging of its population, Korea is becoming a super-aged society, and the proportion of older individuals among traffic accident patients continues to rise. Older adults often exhibit delayed recovery after trauma, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy, necessitating a tailored treatment approach. Integrative Korean medicine (IKM) treatment may serve as a suitable alternative, and its effectiveness and safety in older adults involved in traffic accidents warrant further evaluation. This retrospective chart review assessed the therapeutic efficacy and safety of IKM in hospitalized traffic accident patients aged 65 years or older, using electronic medical records from 4 branches of Korean medicine hospitals between 2021 and 2023. A total of 1788 patients were included in the analysis. Descriptive analyses were performed to summarize demographic and clinical characteristics, and within-group comparisons between admission and discharge were conducted for primary outcomes, including pain, quality of life, functional disability, and range of motion. Safety was assessed based on adverse events (AEs). A total of 1788 older inpatients with traffic-related injuries showed significant improvements (P < .001) in pain numeric rating scale (NRS), quality of life (European quality of life - 5 dimensions), functional disability indicators (neck disability index, Oswestry disability index, shoulder pain and disability index, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index), and range of motion after receiving IKM treatment. Specifically, the mean neck NRS score showed a reduction from 5.17 ± 0.93 at admission to 3.49 ± 1.24 at discharge, and the mean lower back NRS score improved from 5.19 ± 0.91 to 3.55 ± 1.21. Most AEs were mild, and there were no reports of serious AEs. IKM may be a viable and safe therapeutic approach to improving pain, function, and quality of life in older patients hospitalized after traffic accidents.