Clinical efficacy and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine Huoxue-Qingjie decoction for acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and mechanism of Huoxue-Qingjie decoction for acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods According to the random table method, 89 patients with AP from April 2015 to March 2017 were divided into control group (n=44) and observation group (n=45). Two groups of patients were treated with conventional treatment, while the observation group was treated with Huoxue-Qingjie decoction on the basis of routine treatment for 7 days. The clinical total effective rate and improvement of clinical symptoms of two groups of patients were counted, at the same time the serum inflammation and oxidative stress indicators of patients were detected respectively before and after treatment. In addition, the incidence of adverse reactions of two groups of patients was analyzed.. Results The total clinical efficiency of the patients in the observation group was 86.7% (39/45), while the control group was 68.2% (30/44). The difference of two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.363, P=0.037). The imaging returning to normal time (6.3 ± 1.2 d vs. 9.1 ± 1.1 d, t=-12.161), anal exhausted time (35.7 ± 6.8 h vs. 45.6 ± 7.2 h, t=-6.659), abdominal distension relief time (3.0 ± 0.8 d vs. 3.7 ± 0.9 d, t=-4.154) and bowel sounds recovery time (32.5 ± 5.5 h vs. 39.9 ± 6.1 h, t=-5.998) of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of TNF-α (101.21 ± 17.65 ng/L vs. 132.07 ± 20.32 ng/L, t=-7.654), IL-1β (20.33 ± 6.21 pg/ml vs. 29.03 ± 7.03 pg/ml, t=-6.191), IL-6 (30.07 ± 7.32 ng/L vs. 51.71 ± 7.05 ng/L, t=-14.200), IL-8 (80.23 ± 15.22 ng/L vs. 100.56 ± 16.37 ng/L, t=-6.069), HMGB1 (1.35 ± 0.43 μg/L vs. 2.63 ± 0.57 μg/L, t=-11.977) and MDA (3.02 ± 0.64 nmol/L vs. 4.02 ± 0.83 nmol/L, t=-6.374) of the treatment group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.01), while the levels of SOD (119.63 ± 15.69 U/ml vs. 98.54 ± 10.73 U/ml, t=7.836) and CAT (238.87 ± 42.67 U/ml vs. 196.36 ± 39.65 U/ml, t=4.866) were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.01). No serious adverse reactions occurred during the treatment of the two groups. Conclusions The clinical effect of Huoxue-Qingjie decoction on AP is significant, and the clinical symptoms can be improved by anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effect. The safety is high, and it is worth promoting the application in clinic. Key words: Pancreatitis, Acute; Huoxue-Qingjie decoction; Interleukins; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; High mobility group proteins; Integrated Chinese traditional and western medicine therapy