Randomized Controlled Trial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2022; 10(31): 11427-11441
Published online Nov 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i31.11427
Effect of intradermal needle therapy at combined acupoints on patients’ gastrointestinal function following surgery for gastrointestinal tumors
Min Guo, Man Wang, Lu-Lu Chen, Fu-Juan Wei, Jin-E Li, Qing-Xiu Lu, Li Zhang, Hai-Xia Yang
Min Guo, Hai-Xia Yang, School of Nursing, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
Man Wang, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, Zhejiang Province, China
Lu-Lu Chen, Li Zhang, Department of Geriatric Gastrosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710046, Shaanxi Province, China
Fu-Juan Wei, Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710046, Shaanxi Province, China
Jin-E Li, Qing-Xiu Lu, Hai-Xia Yang, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710046, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Guo M and Yang HX designed this study and drafted the manuscript; Guo M, Yang HX, Chen LL, Wei FJ, Li JE, and Lu QX collected the data; Wang M and Zhang L analyzed the data; all authors read and approved the final manuscript to be published.
Supported by the Shaanxi Provincial Key Research and Development Program of China, No. 2020SF-278.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was registered in the Chinese Medical Research Registration and Filing Information System at http://114.255.48.20/index. The registration identification number is MR-61-21-012956.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, 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: No additional data are available.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
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: Hai-Xia Yang, MD, Chief Nurse, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 157 West Five Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. 704287382@qq.com
Received: July 13, 2022
Peer-review started: July 13, 2022
First decision: July 31, 2022
Revised: August 16, 2022
Accepted: September 27, 2022
Article in press: September 27, 2022
Published online: November 6, 2022
Processing time: 105 Days and 5.2 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery is considered critical to the rapid rehabilitation of patients who have undergone gastrointestinal tumor resection. However, active intervention to promote the rapid recovery of gastrointestinal function after surgery remains insufficient. Therefore, finding an effective method to promote postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery is essential.

Research motivation

Traditional Chinese medicine offers considerable advantages for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Acupuncture based on Traditional Chinese medicine theories is widely applied to postoperative patients. However, compared to traditional acupuncture, intradermal needle therapy (INT) is easier to perform and less painful for patients.

Research objectives

We selected distal acupoints of the corresponding meridian (specifically, acupoints on the stomach, large intestine, liver, and spleen channels) as intradermal needle therapy treatment sites and aimed to elucidate the effect of this treatment in a cohort of gastrointestinal tumor patients.

Research methods

In this randomized controlled trial, patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer were randomly allocated to either the intervention or the control group. Participants in the control group received enhanced recovery care, while those in the intervention group received enhanced recovery care combined with INT at the Yuan-source, Luo-connecting, and He-sea points.

Research results

INT at the Yuan-source, Luo-connecting, and He-sea points decreased patients’ time to the first postoperative flatus passage, oral feeding, and defecation, and alleviated their symptoms, including abdominal distension, nausea, and fatigue 48 h and 72 h after surgery.

Research conclusions

INT at the Yuan-source, Luo-connecting, and He-sea points can promote recovery of gastrointestinal function and ease gastrointestinal symptoms in patients following surgical resection of gastrointestinal tumors.

Research perspectives

This study provided preliminary evidence to support the integration of this intervention into the postoperative care of patients with gastrointestinal tumors to promote rapid recovery. In future studies, the effect of INT at the Yuan-source, Luo-connecting, and He-sea points needs to be further explored by focusing on a specific tumor type and using larger sample sizes.