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
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery is critical for rapid rehabilitation of patients with gastrointestinal tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine offers considerable advantages for gastrointestinal disease treatment. However, no study has reported the clinical efficacy of intradermal needle therapy (INT) at the Yuan-source, Luo-connecting, and He-sea points of the corresponding meridian for gastrointestinal function in patients following surgery for gastrointestinal tumors.

AIM

To investigate the effect of INT at combined acupoints on patients’ gastrointestinal function following surgery for gastrointestinal tumors.

METHODS

This randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University on patients with diagnosed gastrointestinal cancer, no distant metastases or organ failure, and hospitalized for elective radical tumor resection, who did not receive preoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Participants were randomly allocated to either the intervention (n = 32) or the control (n = 32) 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. After surgery, INT was performed immediately upon the patient's return to the ward, and continued for seven consecutive days. The independent samples t-test, chi-square test, and generalized estimating equations were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The participants’ ages ranged from 40 to 80 years (average 63 ± 10.1 years). Most participants underwent surgery for either gastric (43.8%) or colon cancer (39.1%) and had adenocarcinoma (87.5%). Significant differences were noted in time to first postoperative flatus passage (66 ± 27 h vs 103 ± 41 h, P < 0.001), time to first defecation (106 ± 44 h vs 153 ± 50 h, P < 0.001), and time to first oral feeding (73 ± 30 h vs 115 ± 38 h, P < 0.001) between the intervention and control groups. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal distension, nausea, and fatigue 48 h and 72 h after surgery, were significantly alleviated in the intervention group compared with that observed in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

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.

Keywords: Acupuncture, Acupuncture points, Gastric tumors, Traditional Chinese medicine, Postoperative care

Core Tip: Postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery has been considered critical to the rapid rehabilitation of patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor resection. In this randomized controlled trial, we selected distal acupoints of the corresponding meridian following the Traditional Chinese medicine theory (specifically, acupoints on the stomach, large intestine, liver, and spleen channels) as intradermal needle therapy treatment sites, and assessed the effects in a cohort of gastrointestinal tumor patients. We found that this intervention could promote recovery of gastrointestinal function and alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms. We provide preliminary evidence to support the integration of this intervention into the postoperative care of patients with gastrointestinal tumors to promote rapid recovery.