Exploring the Therapeutic Potential: Ta'līq al-'Alaq (Leech Therapy) for Qarha Khabītha (Non-Healing Ulcer): A Case Study
Begum S, Fareed R, Shoaib M, Sultana A (2025) · Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine · n=1
RCT evidence detailTrial reference
Study Profile
- Design
- single-patient Unani-medicine case report of bilateral chronic non-healing lower-extremity ulcers (27-year duration) treated with weekly Ta'liq al-Alaq (leech therapy) over 6 weeks (Indian Unani medicine institutional context)
- Sample size (n)
- 1
- Intervention
- Weekly hirudotherapy (Ta'liq al-Alaq) sessions for 6 weeks, applied to three non-healing ulcers on bilateral lower extremities; Unani principle of Istifragh (expulsion of morbid humours)
- Comparator
- Not applicable - single case report; historical conventional wound care had failed for 27 years before leech therapy
- Primary endpoint
- Wound healing parameters (size, discharge, smell, pain, edge morphology, wound floor) at 2, 4, and 6 weeks
- Primary result
- Two of three ulcers completely healed at 6 weeks; third ulcer showed partial healing; authors report substantial improvement in pain, discharge, and wound edge morphology; case framed as cost-effective alternative when conventional methods fail
- Follow-up duration
- 6 weeks
- PMID
- 39715565
Key Findings
- Weekly leech sessions for 6 weeks produced complete healing in 2/3 chronic ulcers and partial healing in the third
- Patient had failed 27 years of conventional care prior to leech therapy
- Authors highlight Unani Istifragh principle (expulsion of morbid humours) as the conceptual framework
- Pain, discharge, and wound morphology all improved
- Adds Indian Unani-medicine geography to the leech-venous-ulcer literature
Limitations
- Single case (n=1) - cannot generalize
- No blinded outcome adjudication
- 27-year ulcer duration with prior conventional-care failure introduces regression-to-the-mean / unusual responder bias
- Concurrent adjuvant Unani modalities may have contributed to outcomes
- No biochemical or microbiological wound markers
Clinical Implications
Begum 2025 is a hypothesis-generating case report that adds Unani-medicine geographic and methodological context to the small leech-therapy venous-ulcer literature. For US clinicians, the case does not directly support practice changes but reinforces the need for properly powered RCTs in this indication. For Indian and South Asian Unani-medicine integration, the case adds to the published wound-healing leech literature relevant to traditional-medicine practice contexts.