The combination of Kangfuxing liquid, ethacridine lactate and local oxygen therapy in the treatment of radiation-induced skin damage

Abstract

Objective To investigate the efficiency of Kangfuxing liquid, ethacridine lactate in combination with local oxygen therapy for radiation-induced skin damage. Methods A total of 96 patients affected by radiation-induced skin damage were enrolled and randomly allocated to a treatment group and a control group by random number table method, with 48 patients in each group. All patients in the control group were treated with trolamine cream, and those in the treatment group were treated with Kangfuxing liquid, ethacridine lactate in combination with local oxygen therapy. Skin dermatitis was scored utilizing Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) toxicity scale. Results The total effective rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (97.9% vs. 79.1%; χ2=10.119, P=0.002). The distribution of patients with RTOG grades 0 to 4 showed different degrees of improvement, and the number of patients with RTOG 0-4 grades changed from 0, 3, 9, 12, 24 before the treatment to 8, 12, 22, 6, 0 after the treatment in the treatment group, 0, 2, 10, 25, 11 to 2, 5, 18, 23, 0 in the control group. The percent of patients with RTOG grade 0 in the treatment group was significantly increased than that in the control group (16.7% vs. 4.2%; χ2=4.019, P=0.045) and the percent of patients with RTOG grade 3 significantly decreased (12.5% vs. 47.9%; χ2=12.649, P<0.001). The percents of patients with dispirited spirit (31.3% vs. 58.3%; χ2=6.066, P=0.014), dry and chapped skin (20.8% vs. 58.3%; χ2=12.588, P=0.000) in the treatment group were all significantly lower than those in the control group. Conclusion Kangfuxing Liquid, ethacridine lactate in combination with local oxygen therapy can improve radiation-induced skin damage. Key words: Radiodermatitis; Ethacridine; Oxygen; Kangfuxing liquid