Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 26, 2023; 11(3): 556-565
Published online Jan 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i3.556
Qixue Shuangbu decoction and acupuncture combined with Western medicine in acute severe stroke patients
Li-Kun Gou, Chun Li
Li-Kun Gou, Chun Li, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Lanzhou Second People’s Hospital, Lanzhou 730046, Gansu Province, China
Author contributions: Gou LK and Li C design the study; Gou LK drafted the manuscript; Gou LK and Li C collected the data; Li C analyzed and interpreted data, Gou LK and Li C wrote and revised the manuscript.
Supported by Lanzhou Science and Technology Development Plan Project, No. 2020-ZD-126.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Lanzhou Second People’s Hospital Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are 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: Chun Li, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Lanzhou Second People’s Hospital, No. 388 Jingyuan Road, Lanzhou 730046, Gansu Province, China. lanzhoulichun@126.com
Received: May 6, 2022
Peer-review started: May 6, 2022
First decision: May 30, 2022
Revised: June 18, 2022
Accepted: December 21, 2022
Article in press: December 21, 2022
Published online: January 26, 2023
Processing time: 265 Days and 7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Stroke is a common and frequently occurring disease of the nervous system and one of the three major diseases leading to human death. The incidence and mortality of stroke in China increase with age. Overall, 70 % of patients with stroke have serious disability, which results in heavy burden to their families and the society.

AIM

To analyze the effects of Qixue Shuangbu decoction and acupuncture combined with Western medicine on immune indexes and digestive tract function in patients with acute severe stroke.

METHODS

A total of 68 patients with acute severe stroke admitted to Lanzhou Second People’s Hospital between March 2018 and September 2021 were selected and divided into the control and observation groups according to a random number table method. The control group was administered routine Western medicine treatment, such as dehydration, lowering intracranial pressure, anticoagulation, improving cerebral blood circulation and cerebral nerve protection according to the “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke in China.” The observation group was administered Qixue Shuangbu decoction via nasal feeding tube on the basis of the routine Western medicine treatment with simultaneous acupuncture. The two groups were compared.

RESULTS

The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II, organ dysfunction syndrome score, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores of the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those measured before treatment, and the complements C3 and C4, and immunoglobulins (Ig) M and G were significantly increased compared with those observed before treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, and the complement and Ig levels were higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of diamine oxidase (DAO), D-lactic acid (D-LA), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the two groups were significantly higher than those before treatment, while the levels of lipopolysaccharide, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 1 (UCH-L1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL) -2, and IL-8 were significantly lower than those before treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment, DAO, D-LA, and CGRP were higher in the observation group than in the control group, while lipopolysaccharide, UCH-L1, TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-8 were lower than in the control group (P < 0.05). The hospitalization time of individuals in the observation group was shorter than that of the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Qixue Shuangbu decoction and acupuncture combined with Western medicine for the treatment of acute severe stroke can regulate intestinal flora, reduce inflammation, improve intestinal mucosal barrier function and immune function related indicators, and promote recovery.

Keywords: Qixue Shuangbu Decoction; Acupuncture; Western medicine; Acute severe stroke; Intestinal flora; Degree of inflammation; Immune function

Core Tip: Severe stroke is an acute and critical disease of the nervous system, which is a group of diseases that cause brain tissue damage due to the sudden rupture of brain vessels or the failure of blood to flow into the brain due to vascular obstruction. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the disease belongs to the category of "stroke.” There is evidence that lack of multi-factor endowment, aging, and yang hyperactivity wind, or drinking of syrup, overeating fat, climate change and other incentives result in viscera dysfunction, qi and blood disturbance, disturbing the brain orifices, and channeling the meridians for stroke.