Curative Effect of Fire Dragon Cupping Assisting Acupuncture on Post-stroke Consti⁃ pation and Its Effect on Gastrointestinal Neurotransmitters and Intestinal Flora
Abstract: Objective: To observe the curative effect of Fire Dragon Cupping assisting acupuncture on post-stroke constipation and its effect on gastrointestinal neurotransmitters and intestinal flora. Methods: A total of 86 cases of patients with post-stroke constipation were divided into the control group and the observation group according to the random number table method,with 43 cases in each group. The control group was treated with Mosapride Citrate,and the observation group was treated with Fire Dragon Cupping assisting acupuncture. The frequency of spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs), difficulty of defecation (DID),Bristol fecal trait (BFT) and the passage time of barium meal in half colon,rectum and whole colon were compared before and after treatment between the two groups. The levels of gastrointestinal neurotransmitters [nitric oxide (NO), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), Ghrelin, Substance P (SP), motilin (MTL)] and intestinal flora (proteobacteria, deferribacteres, actinobacteria) in serum were compared before and after treatment between the two groups. The clinical effects and safety were compared between the two groups. Results:After treatment,the total effective rate was 97.7% in the observation group, higher than that of 81.4% in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the SBMs frequency and BFT scores in the two groups were increased (P<0.05), and the above indexes in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05);DID scores in the two groups were decreased (P<0.05),and the score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the passage time of barium meal in half colon, rectum and whole colon in the two groups were shortened (P<0.05), and the time in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment,the levels of NO,5-HT and VIP in serum in the observation group were decreased (P<0.05), and the above levels were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment,the levels of gastrointestinal SP and MTL in the two groups were increased (P<0.05),the level of gastrointestinal Ghrelin in the observation group was increased (P<0.05), and the above levels in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment,the relative abundances of proteobacteria,deferribacteres and actinobacteria in the observation group were decreased (P<0.05),and the relative abundance was lower than that in the control group. The incidence of adverse reactions was 2.3% in the observation group,lower than that of 25.6% in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion:Fire Dragon Cupping assisting acupuncture can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of patients with post-stroke constipation, improve the levels of serum gastrointestinal neurotransmitters and intestinal flora.