Study on efficacy and safety of acupuncture for treatment of functional constipation

Objective To explore clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treatment of functional constipation.Methods One hundred and twenty cases were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,60 cases in each group.The patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Tiānshū（天枢 ST 25）,Shàngjùxū（上巨虚 ST 37）,Zúsānlǐ（足三里 ST 36）,Dàchángshū（大肠俞 BL 25）,etc.,and the control group was treated with oral administration of Macrogol 4000 and Mosapride.Defecation frequency,stool property,constipation symptom score,accompanying symptom score,gastrointestinal transit time and adverse reaction were observed before treatment,at the end of treatment and 4 weeks after treatment in the two groups.Results Compared with those before treatment,defecation frequency was increased significantly at the end of treatment in the two groups,while stool property,constipation symptom score,accompanying syndrome score and gastrointestinal transit time all were decreased significantly（all P0.01）,with no significant difference in these indexes between the two groups at the end of treatment （all P0.05）.Compared with the end of treatment,the above-mentioned indexes did not significantly recur in the observation group 4 weeks after the treatment （all P0.05）,but the therapeutic effects were unstable with decreased to some extent in the control group （all P0.05）.No serious adverse reaction was found in the two groups.Conclusion In the patients with functional constipation,acupuncture can significantly increase defecation frequency,change stool property,alleviate constipation and accompanying symptoms,and shorten gastrointestinal transit time with better safety and tolerance,and the therapeutic effect is more stable than that of Macrogol 4000 and Mosapride.

Electroacupuncture combined with qibei mixture for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome:A randomized controlled trial

Objective： To explore the short and long-term efficacy of combining electroacupuncture（EA） and Qibei mixture in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome（IBSD）.Methods： Six hundred and forty-four patients with confirmed IBSD from the Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University in China, recruited from July 2012 to June 2016, were randomly divided into four groups, the EA group, Qibei mixture group, combination group and medication group with 161 patients in each group. The patients in the EA group were treated with EA at zúsānlǐ（足三里ST36）. Gān shù（肝俞BL18）, Pǐshù（脾俞BL20）. Tàichōng（太冲LR36） and Qízhōngsìbiān（脐中四边）once daily for 4 weeks, while the patients in the Qibei mixture group were treated with 50 mL of Qibei mixture twice daily, the combination group with the above-mentioned EA and Qibei mixture, and the medication group with 1 tablet compound diphenoxylate twice, 3 g montmorillonite powder three times and 25 mg amitriptyline twice daily. The defecation frequencies, stool properties, accompanying symptom score, life quality score and adverse reactions were recorded pre-treatment,at the end of treatment and 6 weeks post-treatment for the four groups.Results： Compared with pre-treatment, the defecation frequencies, stool property score and accompanying symptom score were all decreased significantly at the end of treatment in each group（all P〈0.01）,while the scores of nine dimensions of quality of life were all increased significantly（all P〈0.01）. The above-mentioned indices were better in the combination group than in the other groups（all P〈0.05）.Compared with the end of treatment, no significant recurrences of the above-mentioned indices had occurred in the combination group or the EA group at 6 weeks post-treatment（both P〉0.05）, but these indices all recurred significantly in the group given Qibei mixture and the medication group（P〈0.05）.The short-and long-term total effective rates in the combination group both showed significant differences from those in the other groups（P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. No serious adverse reactions occurred in the four groups.Conclusion： EA and Qibei mixture can decrease defecation frequencies, improve stool properties, and alleviate accompanying symptoms to increase life quality, but the therapeutic effect of combination therapy is greater, with better reliability and long-term efficacy.