Randomized Controlled Trial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2024; 12(18): 3476-3481
Published online Jun 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i18.3476
Evaluating the clinical application and effect of acupuncture therapy in anal function rehabilitation after low-tension rectal cancer surgery
Li-Zhong Shen, Wei Li, Zhan-Lun Liu, Ni Wang, Yan-Feng Liu, Ling-Ling Miao
Li-Zhong Shen, Wei Li, Zhan-Lun Liu, Ni Wang, Yan-Feng Liu, Ling-Ling Miao, Department of Digestive Surgery, Hebei Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Shen LZ and Li W contributed equally to this work; Shen LZ, Li W, Liu ZL, Wang N, Liu YF, and Miao LL designed the study; Shen LZ, Li W, Liu ZL, Wang N, Liu YF, and Miao LL contributed to the analysis of the manuscript; Shen LZ and Li W involved in the data and writing of this article; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Government Subsidizes Special Funds for Outstanding Health Talents, No. 0700000042.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study is registered at Clinical Trial Center (www.researchregistry.com). The registration identification number is researchregistry10224.
Informed consent statement: All study participants and their legal guardians provide informed written consent before the study recruitment.
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: Ling-Ling Miao, Doctor, Master's Student, Department of Digestive Surgery, Hebei Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 389 Zhongshan East Road, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. maoll20241073@163.com
Received: March 10, 2024
Revised: April 23, 2024
Accepted: May 7, 2024
Published online: June 26, 2024
Processing time: 99 Days and 20.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

According to the indexes of serum and anal function, acupuncture therapy was applied to patients with low rectal cancer in order to avoid the occurrence of anal incontinence and reduce complications.

AIM

To explore the clinical application and evaluate the effect of acupuncture therapy for anal function rehabilitation after low-tension rectal cancer surgery.

METHODS

From the anorectal surgery cases, we selected 120 patients who underwent colorectal cancer surgery between January 2020 and December 2022 and randomly divided them into a control group (n = 60), observation group (n = 60), and control group after surgery for lifestyle intervention (including smoking cessation and exercise), dietary factor adjustment, anal movement, and oral loperamide treatment. The serum levels of motilin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), Wexner score for anal incontinence, and incidence of complications were compared between groups.

RESULTS

After treatment, the VIP and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The motilin level was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Postoperative anal incontinence was better in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was 6.67%, which was significantly lower than that in the control group (21.67%; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture therapy has a positive effect on the rehabilitation of anal function after low-tension rectal cancer surgery; it can effectively help to improve the serum indices of patients, avoid the occurrence of anal incontinence, and reduce the incidence of complications. Popularizing and applying it will be valuable.

Keywords: Acupuncture therapy, Low pull rectal cancer, Anal function rehabilitation, Serum indicator, Wexner score

Core Tip: Acupuncture therapy post low-tension rectal cancer surgery improves serum markers, reduces anal incontinence, and lowers complication rates. Its application is valuable for enhancing anal function recovery.