Application effect of the acupoint injection of dexamethasone at Zusanli on improving the tolerance of ;chemotherapy in the patients with breast cancer

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of the preventive acupoint injection of dexamethasone at Zusanli on the degree of bone marrow suppression and a series of unwell symptoms in the patients with breast cancer after chemotherapy .Methods Eighty patients who met the inclusion criteria of the breast cancerafter chemotherapy were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group according to the random number table, each with 40 cases.The control group was taken oral medicine as Berbamine Hydrochloride Tablets and Leucogenum , and the observation group received the preventive acupoint injection of dexamethasone at Zusanli on the fifth days after chemotherapy , 5mg/d for 3d, on the basis of the control group .The degree of bone marrow suppression was compared , and the fatigue and appetite of patients were also evaluated by the brief fatigue scale（BFI） and visual analogue scale（VAS） in two groups.Results The levels of WBC, NE and HB in the observation group were respectively （4.73 ±2.11）×10^9/L, （2.13 ±0.61） ×10^9/L, （112.20 ±5.76）g/L on the seventh day after chemotherapy , and better than （3.21 ±0.85） ×10^9/L, （1.66 ±0.42） ×10^9/L, （107.90 ±5.72）g/L in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant （t=4.212, 4.026, 3.349, respectively;P＆lt;0.01）.The count of WBC was on the increase in the observation group on the seventh day after chemotherapy , and then decreased slowly , and the degree of decrease in the observation group was lower than that of control group , and the difference was found in the development trend between two groups （ F=53.19, P〈0.05）.The degree of fatigue and bone marrow suppression in the observation group on the seventh day after chemotherapy were better than those in the control group , and the differences were statistically significant （Z=-2.795, -3.307, respectively;P＆lt;0.01）.The appetite of patients in two groups gradually＆amp;nbsp;returned to normal , and there was a positive correlation the degree of fatigue and bone marrow suppression after chemotherapy （r =0.656, 0.682, respectively; P＆lt;0.05）.The cases of the more than Ⅲdegree of bone marrow suppression was 6 cases in the observation group , and 15 cases in the control groups , and these patients received the Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor （rhG-CSF） treatment, and the difference was statistically significant （χ2 =5.230, P 〈0.05 ）.Conclusions The preventive acupoint injection of dexamethasone at Zusanli can reduce the degree of bone marrow suppression and the fatigue symptoms caused by bone marrow suppression after chemotherapy in the patients with breast cancer so as to improve their tolerance of chemotherapy . Key words: Dexamethasone; Acupoint,zusanli; Acupoint injection; Chemotherapy; Tolerance