Chen XX, Han XF, Chu Y. Naloxone plus enteral nutrition for gastrointestinal dysfunction in elderly cerebral infarction and peptic ulcer patients. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(1): 115201 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.115201]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yan Chu, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Neurology I, Huai'an Clinical Medical College of Jiangsu University Huai'an Hospital of Huai'an City, No. 19 Shanyang Avenue, Huai’an 223200, Jiangsu Province, China. 15195340997@163.com
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Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Retrospective Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Jan 27, 2026 (publication date) through Jan 28, 2026
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World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
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1948-9366
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Chen XX, Han XF, Chu Y. Naloxone plus enteral nutrition for gastrointestinal dysfunction in elderly cerebral infarction and peptic ulcer patients. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(1): 115201 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.115201]
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jan 27, 2026; 18(1): 115201 Published online Jan 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.115201
Naloxone plus enteral nutrition for gastrointestinal dysfunction in elderly cerebral infarction and peptic ulcer patients
Xin-Xin Chen, Xue-Fei Han, Yan Chu
Xin-Xin Chen, Department of Internal Medicine, Tsinghua University Hospital, Beijing 100084, China
Xue-Fei Han, Department of Geriatric, Beijing Xicheng District Pingan Hospital, Beijing 100071, China
Yan Chu, Department of Neurology I, Huai'an Clinical Medical College of Jiangsu University Huai'an Hospital of Huai'an City, Huai’an 223200, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Chen XX and Han XF contributed to research design, data collection, data analysis, and paper writing; Chu Y was responsible for research design, funding application, data analysis, reviewing and editing, communication coordination, ethical review, copyright and licensing, and follow-up.
Institutional review board statement: The research was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Huai'an Clinical Medical College of Jiangsu University Huai'an Hospital of Huai'an City.
Informed consent statement: All research participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent prior to study registration.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest is associated with this work.
Data sharing statement: No other data available.
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: Yan Chu, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Neurology I, Huai'an Clinical Medical College of Jiangsu University Huai'an Hospital of Huai'an City, No. 19 Shanyang Avenue, Huai’an 223200, Jiangsu Province, China. 15195340997@163.com
Received: October 10, 2025 Revised: November 5, 2025 Accepted: November 27, 2025 Published online: January 27, 2026 Processing time: 103 Days and 1.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Cerebral infarction (CI) is a major subtype of ischemic stroke, with high incidence, recurrence rate, disability rate, and mortality rate in the elderly. Elderly CI patients are prone to peptic ulcer due to long-term use of antiplatelet drugs and stress factors, which further leads to gastrointestinal dysfunction, seriously affecting nutritional intake and rehabilitation. Naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, has neuroprotective potential, and enteral nutrition (EN) can improve gastrointestinal function. This study aims to explore the intervention effect of their combination.
AIM
To investigate the efficacy of naloxone combined with EN on gastrointestinal dysfunction in elderly patients with CI and peptic ulcer.
METHODS
In this randomized controlled trial, 110 elderly patients with CI and peptic ulcer were equally assigned to a control group (receiving standard therapy combined with EN) or a combination group (receiving standard therapy, EN, and naloxone). The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, Barthel Index (BI), Chinese version of the MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores, gastrointestinal function scores, and serum levels of motilin (MTL), gastrin (GAS), and somatostatin (SS) were compared. Adverse reactions were also recorded.
RESULTS
Compared with the control group, the combination group had lower NIHSS scores (5.88 ± 1.07 vs 8.73 ± 1.14, P < 0.001) and gastrointestinal dysfunction scores (5.14 ± 1.27 vs 8.62 ± 1.31, P < 0.001), higher BI (87.36 ± 4.42 vs 72.29 ± 3.23, P < 0.001) and SF-36 scores (76.26 ± 3.85 vs 70.21 ± 3.66, P < 0.001), increased serum MTL (201.31 ± 12.35 ng/L vs 186.81 ± 11.18 ng/L, P < 0.001) and GAS levels (94.46 ± 9.64 pg/mL vs 103.15 ± 10.52 pg/mL, P < 0.001), and decreased SS levels (5.69 ± 1.25 pg/mL vs 8.31 ± 1.19 pg/mL, P < 0.001). No significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions was found between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
The combination of naloxone and EN is a safe and efficacious therapeutic approach for ameliorating gastrointestinal dysfunction and promoting overall recovery in elderly individuals with CI and peptic ulcer.
Core Tip: This study investigates the combined effect of naloxone and enteral nutrition (EN) on alleviating gastrointestinal dysfunction in elderly patients with cerebral infarction (CI) and peptic ulcers. With CI being prevalent among the elderly and often accompanied by gastrointestinal complications, the research aims to provide evidence supporting the use of naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, alongside EN to improve gastrointestinal health and promote recovery.
