Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Mar 27, 2025; 17(3): 99626
Published online Mar 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i3.99626
Retrospective analysis on Lou Bei Er Chen decoction and acupuncture in gastroesophageal reflux disease post-gastric cancer surgery
Jing-Hua Shi, Hui Yang, Shi-Tao Wang, Wen-Jun Wang, Ye Shi, Shan-Shan Huang, Su Jiang
Jing-Hua Shi, Shi-Tao Wang, Wen-Jun Wang, Su Jiang, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou 225300, Jiangsu Province, China
Hui Yang, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China
Ye Shi, Shan-Shan Huang, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou 225300, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Shi JH and Jiang S designed the experiments and conducted clinical data collection, wrote the original manuscript, and revised the paper; Yang H, Wang ST, Wang WJ, Shi Y, and Huang SS performed postoperative follow-up and recorded the data, conducted the collation and statistical analysis; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Su Jiang, MD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 399 Hailing South Road, Hailing District, Taizhou 225300, Jiangsu Province, China. jiangsu19871008@163.com
Received: November 7, 2024
Revised: December 18, 2024
Accepted: January 7, 2025
Published online: March 27, 2025
Processing time: 109 Days and 1.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer is a growing clinical challenge, particularly due to the increased risk of postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) following surgical treatment. traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including acupuncture and herbal medicine, has been proposed as an adjunctive therapy to promote gastrointestinal recovery and alleviate GERD symptoms.

AIM

To retrospectively study the clinical efficacy of modified Lou Bei Er Chen decoction combined with acupuncture in treating patients with GERD after radical gastrectomy due to gastric cancer.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted, including patients with gastric cancer or malignant tumors of the stomach from January 2019 to December 2023 in the Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Patients with a TCM diagnosis of qi depression and phlegm obstruction (n = 128) were selected on the basis of prescription and treatment principles. They were then divided into a control group (n = 61) and an observation group (n = 67). The control group received treatment with Western medicine domperidone. The observation group were treated with Lou Bei Er Chen decoction orally, with acupuncture at specific acupoints (bilateral Hegu, bilateral Neiguan, and bilateral Zusanli), in addition to the treatment as in the control group, for a continuous treatment period of 8 weeks. The improvement time of postoperative gastrointestinal function indicators, gastrointestinal dysfunction scores, GERD-Q scores, and TCM syndrome scores were further observed for both groups.

RESULTS

The observation group showed significantly shorter times for first flatus, defecation, bowel sound recovery, and initiation of nasogastric enteral nutrition than the control group (P < 0.05). Upon treatment, the two groups demonstrated a significant reduction in gastrointestinal dysfunction scores, with a more significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.001). The GERD-Q scores significantly decreased after 8 weeks of treatment in the two groups (P < 0.05), with a significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.05), compared with baseline. The TCM syndrome scores significantly decreased after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment in the two groups (P < 0.05), with a significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.05). The effective rate of the observation group after 8 weeks of treatment was significantly higher than that after 4 weeks (χ2 = 13.648, P = 0.003), and it was significantly higher than that of control group (χ2 = 13.879, P = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Lou Bei Er Chen decoction combined with acupuncture treatment can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms in patients GERD after gastric cancer surgery and improve their life quality. It is worthy of further promotion and application.

Keywords: Lou Bei Er Chen decoction; Acupuncture; Gastric cancer; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Gastrointestinal function

Core Tip: This study evaluates the effectiveness of combining acupuncture with Lou Bei Er Chen decoction in improving postoperative gastrointestinal recovery and reducing gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms in patients with gastric cancer. This integrated approach significantly shortens the time to first flatus, defecation, and bowel sound recovery, while also reducing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores and gastroesophageal reflux disease-Q scores. The improvements in TCM syndrome scores were observed at 4 weeks post-treatment. This study provides evidence for the potential of TCM as an adjunctive therapy to enhance postoperative recovery and quality of life in patients with gastric cancer.