Abstract
BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is a growing clinical challenge, particularly due to the increased risk of postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) following surgical treatment. traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including acupuncture and herbal medicine, has been proposed as an adjunctive therapy to promote gastrointestinal recovery and alleviate GERD symptoms. AIM: To retrospectively study the clinical efficacy of modified Lou Bei Er Chen decoction combined with acupuncture in treating patients with GERD after radical gastrectomy due to gastric cancer. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted, including patients with gastric cancer or malignant tumors of the stomach from January 2019 to December 2023 in the Affiliated Taizhou People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Patients with a TCM diagnosis of qi depression and phlegm obstruction (n = 128) were selected on the basis of prescription and treatment principles. They were then divided into a control group (n = 61) and an observation group (n = 67). The control group received treatment with Western medicine domperidone. The observation group were treated with Lou Bei Er Chen decoction orally, with acupuncture at specific acupoints (bilateral Hegu, bilateral Neiguan, and bilateral Zusanli), in addition to the treatment as in the control group, for a continuous treatment period of 8 weeks. The improvement time of postoperative gastrointestinal function indicators, gastrointestinal dysfunction scores, GERD-Q scores, and TCM syndrome scores were further observed for both groups. RESULTS: The observation group showed significantly shorter times for first flatus, defecation, bowel sound recovery, and initiation of nasogastric enteral nutrition than the control group (P < 0.05). Upon treatment, the two groups demonstrated a significant reduction in gastrointestinal dysfunction scores, with a more significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.001). The GERD-Q scores significantly decreased after 8 weeks of treatment in the two groups (P < 0.05), with a significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.05), compared with baseline. The TCM syndrome scores significantly decreased after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment in the two groups (P < 0.05), with a significant reduction in the observation group (P < 0.05). The effective rate of the observation group after 8 weeks of treatment was significantly higher than that after 4 weeks (χ (2) = 13.648, P = 0.003), and it was significantly higher than that of control group (χ (2) = 13.879, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Lou Bei Er Chen decoction combined with acupuncture treatment can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms in patients GERD after gastric cancer surgery and improve their life quality. It is worthy of further promotion and application.