Auricular Point-Pressing With Bean Plus Esomeprazole Magnesium in Relieving Gastrointestinal Dysfunction

The frequency of gastric-cancer (GC) diagnosis has been increasing in recent years and often has no obvious symptoms at an early stage. Upon clinical diagnosis of early GC (EGC), surgical treatment is generally recommended but as an invasive operation, surgical resection can't avoid postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID) and other problems.

The study intended to evaluate the clinical benefits for EGC patients of auricular point-pressing with beans, combined with esomeprazole magnesium (EM), for relieving gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID) after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), aiming to provide accurate and effective reference opinions for future clinical treatment.

The research team designed a retrospective analysis.

The study took place at the Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

Participants were 78 EGC patients who underwent ESD at the hospital between January 2019 and January 2021 and who had developed postoperative GID.

Thirty-seven patients chose to receive routine EM treatment, and they served as a control group. 41 patients chose to receive auricular point-pressing with bean plus EM intervention, and they served as a intervention group.

At baseline and postintervention, the research team measured the levels of serum motilin (MOT), substance P (SP), prealbumin (PAB), transferrin (TF), and albumin (ALB). They also recorded the time of intestinal peristalsis recovery, first exhaust, first defecation, normal food intake, and resolution of abdominal distension symptoms. Finally, they counted the incidence of adverse events during treatment.

The levels of MOT, SP, PAB, TF, and ALB significantly changed between baseline and postintervention in both groups (P < .05). In the intervention group as compared to the control group postintervention, the decreases in the levels of MOT PAB, TF, and ALB and the increase in the SP level were significantly greater in the control group than those of the intervention group (all P < .05). In addition, the intervention group showed a shorter recovery time related to postoperative intestinal function and normal food intake and resolution of abdominal distension symptoms than did the control group (all P < .05), with a lower incidence of adverse events.

Auricular point-pressing with beans plus EM can effectively alleviate the GID of EGC patients after ESD and help them to maintain normal gastrointestinal function, and its use is worth popularizing in clinical settings.