Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Dec 27, 2023; 15(12): 2765-2773
Published online Dec 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i12.2765
Application of electroacupuncture in the prevention of low anterior resection syndrome after rectal cancer surgery
Lu-Lu Xu, Neng-Jun Xiang, Tian-Cheng Cheng, Yi-Xian Li, Peng Chen, Zhi-Wei Jiang, Xin-Xin Liu
Lu-Lu Xu, Neng-Jun Xiang, Tian-Cheng Cheng, Yi-Xian Li, Peng Chen, The First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
Zhi-Wei Jiang, Xin-Xin Liu, Department of General Surger, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Lu-Lu Xu and Neng-Jun Xiang.
Author contributions: Xu LL and Xiang NJ contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors, including design of the study, acquiring and analyzing data from experiments, and writing of the actual manuscript; Xu LL, Xiang NJ and Li YX designed the experiment and conducted clinical data collection; Liu XX, Cheng TC and Chen P performed postoperative follow-up and recorded data; Xu LL, Xiang NJ, Jiang ZW and Liu XX conducted a number of collation and statistical analysis; all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Jiangsu Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Development Plan Project, No. ZD201903; China Medical Education Association, No. 2022KTZ005.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no financial relationships to disclose.
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: Xin-Xin Liu, MD, Doctor, Department of General Surger, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 155 Hanzhong Road, Qinhuai District, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China. liuxinxin2929@163.com
Received: September 27, 2023
Peer-review started: September 27, 2023
First decision: October 24, 2023
Revised: November 10, 2023
Accepted: November 24, 2023
Article in press: November 24, 2023
Published online: December 27, 2023
Processing time: 91 Days and 0.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

In the future, the effect of electroacupuncture on the prevention and treatment of other postoperative complications in patients with rectal cancer will be further studied, and more laboratory indicators will be added to explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture.

Research motivation

The results of this study show that electroacupuncture is effective in treating low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) after rectal cancer surgery. It can effectively improve the clinical symptoms and anal pressure indicators of patients, improve the quality of life (QoL), and help to provide a convenient and effective treatment for clinical prevention and treatment of LARS after rectal cancer surgery.

Research objectives

The results of this study showed that compared with the simple western medicine treatment, the combination of electroacupuncture therapy on the basis of conventional western medicine treatment was helpful to improve the LARS Scale (LARSS) score classification and anal pressure index, reduce the LARSS score, Wexner anal incontinence scale score, improve the Xu Zhongfa five ten scale score and QoL, with less adverse reactions, but the impact on postoperative laboratory indicators of rectal cancer patients still needs further study.

Research methods

This study mainly adopts a retrospective cohort study. The observation indexes mainly analyze the changes of Wexner anal incontinence scale score, Xu Zhongfa five-tenth scale score and European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL C30 score at different time points, which is helpful to dynamically observe the application value of electroacupuncture therapy.

Research results

This study mainly verifies the effect of electroacupuncture therapy on preventing and reducing the severity of LARS, which is helpful to improve the QoL of patients and promote their postoperative recovery. It is helpful to further promote electroacupuncture therapy and prevent the occurrence of LARS in patients with rectal cancer.

Research conclusions

This study mainly discusses the effect of electroacupuncture therapy on prevention and treatment, reduction of the severity of LARS and postoperative QoL of patients, so as to provide reference for clinical prevention and treatment.

Research perspectives

Some patients with rectal cancer are prone to LARS after receiving sphincter-preserving surgery, with a high incidence and a greater impact on the prognosis of patients. Electroacupuncture therapy is a continuous external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine through the human body surface, which helps to improve the patient’s nerve injury and further alleviate the symptoms of defecation disorders. This study mainly analyzes the application value of electroacupuncture therapy in the prevention and treatment of postoperative LARS in patients with rectal cancer, in order to provide a basis for clinical prevention and treatment.