Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture plus Ginger Moxibustionfor Preventing Gastrointestinal Reactions to Chemotherapy: A Brief Report

摘要

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) reactions to chemotherapy affect quality of life (QoL) of patients who havetumors seriously, and commonly used antiemetic drugs cause many adverse side-effects.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the preventive effects of wrist-ankle acupuncture (WAA) plusginger (Zingiber spp.) moxibustion (GM) on GI reactions to chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Design: Sixty patients with gynecologic tumors were recruited and treated withchemotherapy and randomly divided into treatment and control groups. Intervention.:Patients in the treatmentgroup were given WAA plus GM during 3 days of chemotherapy and 2 days after chemotherapy. Patients in thecontrol group were given tropisetron hydrochloride and dexamethasone intravenously, on a daily basis, approx30minutes before chemotherapy. Main Outcome Measures: The GI reactions of the two groups were evaluatedand compared during 3 days of chemotherapy and 2 days after chemotherapy. Reduction of GI reactions(nausea, vomiting, and constipation) to chemotherapy were evaluated via a scoring system. The two groupswere compared on the basis of treatment cost, drug safety, and QoL improvement. Results: The frequency of nausea was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group ondays 2-5 of chemotherapy (P<0.01). The antiemetic effect in the treatment group was better than that in thecontrol group on day 3 of therapy (P<0.05). Moreover, the incidence rate of constipation and the cost ofantiemetic measures were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group (P<0.01).Conclusions: WAA plus GM prevented GI reactions to chemotherapy significantly. This treatment is more safeand economical than antiemetic drugs.