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Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)

Medicinal leech therapy is a form of complementary medicine that has long been practised and is gaining popularity in recent years for various illnesses and surgical applications. However, leech saliva contains proteins with anticoagulant properties that can lead to prolonged bleeding from the b...

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Main Authors: Isa MH,, Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew, Abd-Samat AH,
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/1/23_ms0375_pdf_67969.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/
https://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/toc/16/1
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spelling my-ukm.journal.174542021-09-23T04:14:40Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/ Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy) Isa MH, Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew Abd-Samat AH, Medicinal leech therapy is a form of complementary medicine that has long been practised and is gaining popularity in recent years for various illnesses and surgical applications. However, leech saliva contains proteins with anticoagulant properties that can lead to prolonged bleeding from the bite area. We report a case of a 35-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department due to prolonged bleeding from a leech-bite wound. He did not have any significant past medical history or medication history. He had undergone medicinal leech therapy for chronic back pain. After the therapy, he noted that the bleeding did not stop after 7 hours (which normally stops within 30 minutes) and decided to seek treatment. There were wounds over his lower back and both feet, which were all clean. The wound over the lower back had persistent oozing. We applied topical adrenaline and manual compression on the wound, and eventually the bleeding reduced and stopped. There are many suggested methods to stop bleeding from leech-bite wounds but there is scarcity of evidence regarding the superiority of any method. This is the first case report regarding bleeding complications in medicinal leech therapy in Malaysia. This report aims to raise awareness regarding the complications arising from a leech bite among the practitioners of medicinal leech therapy, the public and healthcare providers in emergency facilities. We also suggest using topical adrenaline as an alternative to help stop bleeding from leech-bite wounds. Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/1/23_ms0375_pdf_67969.pdf Isa MH, and Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew and Abd-Samat AH, (2021) Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy). Medicine & Health, 16 (1). pp. 271-276. ISSN 2289-5728 https://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/toc/16/1
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description Medicinal leech therapy is a form of complementary medicine that has long been practised and is gaining popularity in recent years for various illnesses and surgical applications. However, leech saliva contains proteins with anticoagulant properties that can lead to prolonged bleeding from the bite area. We report a case of a 35-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department due to prolonged bleeding from a leech-bite wound. He did not have any significant past medical history or medication history. He had undergone medicinal leech therapy for chronic back pain. After the therapy, he noted that the bleeding did not stop after 7 hours (which normally stops within 30 minutes) and decided to seek treatment. There were wounds over his lower back and both feet, which were all clean. The wound over the lower back had persistent oozing. We applied topical adrenaline and manual compression on the wound, and eventually the bleeding reduced and stopped. There are many suggested methods to stop bleeding from leech-bite wounds but there is scarcity of evidence regarding the superiority of any method. This is the first case report regarding bleeding complications in medicinal leech therapy in Malaysia. This report aims to raise awareness regarding the complications arising from a leech bite among the practitioners of medicinal leech therapy, the public and healthcare providers in emergency facilities. We also suggest using topical adrenaline as an alternative to help stop bleeding from leech-bite wounds.
format Article
author Isa MH,
Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew
Abd-Samat AH,
spellingShingle Isa MH,
Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew
Abd-Samat AH,
Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
author_facet Isa MH,
Lim, Kristina Hoong Yew
Abd-Samat AH,
author_sort Isa MH,
title Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
title_short Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
title_full Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
title_fullStr Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
title_full_unstemmed Prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
title_sort prolonged bleeding due to hirudotherapy (medicinal leech therapy)
publisher Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2021
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/1/23_ms0375_pdf_67969.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17454/
https://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/toc/16/1
_version_ 1712286243457335296
score 13.211869

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