• Jun Cai, Zheng-Rong Xuan, Yong-Ping Wei, Hai-Bo Yang, and Hua Wang.
• Department of General Surgery, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China. caijun509@yahoo.com.cn
• Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2005 May 1;3(3):195-8.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of perioperative administration of rhubarb on the acute inflammatory response in patients with gastric cancer.MethodsIn this prospective, single-blinded, controlled clinical trial, thirty-one patients with gastric cancer operatively treated were randomly divided into two groups, with 14 patients in control group and 17 in study group. Patients in both groups were given an isocaloric and isonitrogenous enteral diet. The enteral diet was started 36 hours after operation, and continued for 6 days. Patients in the study group were fed with rhubarb before operation, and at 1 day and 2 days after operation. Indexes of acute inflammatory response such as serum C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and indexes of nutritional status such as serum albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA) and transferrin (TRF) were measured before operation, and at 1 day, 3 and 7 days after operation.ResultsPatients in both groups had acute inflammatory response, and the indexes of nutritional status decreased after operation.IL-6, CRP and TNF-alpha tested at 3 and 7 days after operation were lower in the study group as compared with those in the control group, and the recovery time of gastrointestinal motility such as borborygmus, gas elimination and defecation was shorter in the study group as compared with that in the control group. The indexes of nutritional status showed no significant differences between two groups after operation.ConclusionRhubarb can positively modulate the acute inflammatory response, promote the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal motility, and benefit enteral nutrition support in patients who have undergone major operations for gastric cancer.

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