Denda Y, Matsuo Y, Hosogi R, Ishida M, Uehara Y, Sugita S, Eguchi Y, Nonoyama K, Murase H, Kato T, Saito K, Sato T, Yamakawa Y, Sagawa H, Ogawa R, Mitsui A, Takiguchi S. Effects of rikkunshito administration after distal pancreatectomy on postoperative oral intake and weight loss. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(7): 122205 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i7.122205]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yoichi Matsuo, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya City University East Medical Center, 1-2-23 Wakamizu, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8547, Aichi, Japan. matsuo@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
research-article
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Denda Y, Matsuo Y, Hosogi R, Ishida M, Uehara Y, Sugita S, Eguchi Y, Nonoyama K, Murase H, Kato T, Saito K, Sato T, Yamakawa Y, Sagawa H, Ogawa R, Mitsui A, Takiguchi S. Effects of rikkunshito administration after distal pancreatectomy on postoperative oral intake and weight loss. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(7): 122205 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i7.122205]
Yuki Denda, Ryosuke Hosogi, Masaki Ishida, Yuriko Uehara, Saburo Sugita, Yuki Eguchi, Keisuke Nonoyama, Hiromichi Murase, Tomokatsu Kato, Kenta Saito, Takafumi Sato, Yushi Yamakawa, Hiroyuki Sagawa, Ryo Ogawa, Akira Mitsui, Shuji Takiguchi, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya 467-8601, Aichi, Japan
Yoichi Matsuo, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya City University East Medical Center, Nagoya 464-8547, Aichi, Japan
Author contributions: Denda Y conceptualized and designed the study, collected the data, performed the analysis, and drafted the manuscript; Matsuo Y supervised the study and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; Takiguchi S supervised the statistical analysis and critically reviewed the manuscript; all authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically ChatGPT) were used solely for linguistic refinement and formatting assistance. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences (approval No. 60-24-0099).
Informed consent statement: The requirement for written informed consent was waived because of the retrospective nature of the study. Instead, an opt-out approach was used, and study information was disclosed on the institutional website in accordance with the ethical guidelines.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this study.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Yoichi Matsuo, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya City University East Medical Center, 1-2-23 Wakamizu, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8547, Aichi, Japan. matsuo@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
Received: April 13, 2026 Revised: May 9, 2026 Accepted: May 26, 2026 Published online: July 27, 2026 Processing time: 106 Days and 2.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Postoperative weight loss and reduced oral intake are common problems after distal pancreatectomy and may adversely affect postoperative recovery and tolerance to adjuvant therapy. Rikkunshito (RT), a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, is reported to improve appetite and gastrointestinal motility. In this retrospective study, patients who received RT after distal pancreatectomy showed significantly improved oral intake on postoperative day 7 and less body weight loss 1 month postoperatively compared with those who did not receive RT. In the absence of established strategies for early postoperative nutritional support after distal pancreatectomy, these findings provide clinically relevant evidence for a simple and feasible intervention.
