Case Report: Herbal nutritional intervention in a critically ill ALS patient with multidrug-resistant infection.
7 affiliations
- 1Institute of Environment and Health, South China Hospital, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
- 2Institute of Chronic Disease Risks Assessment, School of Nursing and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
- 3Hong Kong TungTakSim Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- 4Center of Clinical Laboratory and Pathology, South China Hospital, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
- 5School of Pharmacy, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
- 6School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
- 7Department of Internal Medicine, Shandong Xinzhonglu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Jinan, China.
Abstract
We report a retrospective single case of a female patient with a 9-year history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who presented with respiratory failure due to a multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, predominantly Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP), and who showed significant clinical improvement during a comprehensive treatment regimen that included an adjunctive herbal nutritional intervention. The objective of this retrospective single-case report was to describe the clinical course of this patient following a nutritional intervention with two herbal beverages: Sang Shen Pu Gong Ying (SSPGY) and Wu Zhi Mao Tao Hong Zao (WZMTHZ). The patient was admitted in critical condition and managed in three phases: initial antibiotics with occasional herbal beverages, daily herbal beverages, and a combination of herbal beverages with intermittent antibiotics. Retrospective analysis of clinical data revealed significant improvements post-intervention. Body weight increased from 26 kg to 35.5 kg at discharge and 39 kg at the 6-week follow-up. Vital signs normalized, with no detectable KP in the final hospital phase. Inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and white blood cell count, decreased markedly. Neurological status, as indicated by neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels, improved, and the patient showed respiratory autonomy and positional changes. Nutritional markers, total protein and creatinine, also improved. This case documents clinical improvements, including extended ventilator-free breathing periods, in an ALS patient with MDRO infection following a combined therapeutic approach. Although concurrent medical interventions were administered in real-world clinical practice, these findings suggest the potential value of this adjunctive intervention, warranting further systematic investigation. Clinical Trial Registration: identifier ITMCTR2024000322.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026case,
title = {{Case Report: Herbal nutritional intervention in a critically ill ALS patient with multidrug-resistant infection.}},
author = {Meng Wang and Chihim Mak and Xinjie Li and Shaoyu Li and Chunyan Cui and Defeng Cai and Zhiwei Liang and Tao Lu and Qingshun Jia and Xiangming Shao and Yong Ma and Guanghui Fan and Kejin Li and Wenzhi Mai and Chihang Mak and Nan Liu},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1912856},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908777},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Case Report: Herbal nutritional intervention in a critically ill ALS patient with multidrug-resistant infection.
AU - Meng Wang
AU - Chihim Mak
AU - Xinjie Li
AU - Shaoyu Li
AU - Chunyan Cui
AU - Defeng Cai
AU - Zhiwei Liang
AU - Tao Lu
AU - Qingshun Jia
AU - Xiangming Shao
AU - Yong Ma
AU - Guanghui Fan
AU - Kejin Li
AU - Wenzhi Mai
AU - Chihang Mak
AU - Nan Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1912856
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908777
AB - We report a retrospective single case of a female patient with a 9-year history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who presented with respiratory failure due to a multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, predominantly Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP), and who showed significant clinical improvement during a comprehensive treatment regimen that included an adjunctive herbal nutritional intervention. The objective of this retrospective single-case report was to describe the clinical course of this patient following a nutritional intervention with two herbal beverages: Sang Shen Pu Gong Ying (SSPGY) and Wu Zhi Mao Tao Hong Zao (WZMTHZ). The patient was admitted in critical condition and managed in three phases: initial antibiotics with occasional herbal beverages, daily herbal beverages, and a combination of herbal beverages with intermittent antibiotics. Retrospective analysis of clinical data revealed significant improvements post-intervention. Body weight increased from 26 kg to 35.5 kg at discharge and 39 kg at the 6-week follow-up. Vital signs normalized, with no detectable KP in the final hospital phase. Inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and white blood cell count, decreased markedly. Neurological status, as indicated by neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels, improved, and the patient showed respiratory autonomy and positional changes. Nutritional markers, total protein and creatinine, also improved. This case documents clinical improvements, including extended ventilator-free breathing periods, in an ALS patient with MDRO infection following a combined therapeutic approach. Although concurrent medical interventions were administered in real-world clinical practice, these findings suggest the potential value of this adjunctive intervention, warranting further systematic investigation. Clinical Trial Registration: identifier ITMCTR2024000322.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -