Clinical study of modified Xiaochengqi decoction in the treatment of gastroparesis syndrome

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of modified Xiaochengqi decoction in treatment of gastroparesis syndrome (GS). Methods A total of 81 patients with GS from 2010 July to 2013 July in HuiZhou Municipal Central Hospital were selected and randomly recruited into a control group and a treatment group. The control group was treated with domperidone, 15-30 min before the meal, while the treatment group was additionally treated with modified Xiaochengqi decoction on the basis of the control group. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The clinical curative effect, and the symptoms in both groups were observed. The serum motilin and gastrin concentration were measured by radio-immunity, the preprandial and postprandial electrogastrography was performed. Results The total effective rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (72.5% vs. 31.7%; χ2=11.911, P=0.000). The serum levels of motilin (treatment group: 532.8±16.7 ng/L vs. 355.2±14.3 ng/L, t=51.089, P=0.000; control group: 505.1 ± 21.3 ng/L vs. 372.9 ± 18.4 ng/L, t=30.074, P=0.000) and gastrin (treatment group: 69.8 ± 15.3 ng/L vs. 54.3 ± 13.8 ng/L, t=4.758, P=0.000; control group: 62.6 ± 14.2 ng/L vs. 53.4 ± 12.3 ng/L, t=3.136, P=0.002) were significantly reduced, and their decrease in the treatment group were greater than those in the control group (t values were 6.503, 2.196, all P<0.05). After the treatment, the dominant power (preprandial period: 84.5 ± 14.8 μV vs. 72.3 ± 15.0 μV, t=3.684, P＜0.01; postprandial period: 100.5 ± 17.3 μV vs. 89.3 ± 15.9 μV, t=5.713, P=0.000) and dominant frequency (preprandial period: 4.3 ± 0.4 cpm vs. 3.9 ± 0.2 cpm, t=3.035, P=0.000; postprandial period: 4.7 ± 0.5 cpm vs. 4.4 ± 0.5 cpm, t=2.700, P=0.000) were significantly higher, while the percentage of bradygastria (preprandial period: 50.6% ± 16.6% vs. 60.1% ± 16.3%, t=2.599, P=0.000；postprandial period: 36.6% ± 14.8% vs. 57.4% ± 15.3%, t=6.217, P=0.000) was significantly lower in the treatment group compared with the control group at preprandial and postprandial periods. Conclusion Xiaochengqi decoction can obviously promote the gastric motility, and reduce the serum levels of motilin and gastrin in patients with GS. Key words: Gastroparesis; Xiao Cheng Qi Tang; Treatment outcome