Simo Decoction and Acupuncture on POI in Colorectal Cancer (SMD/POI)

Efficacy of Simo Decoction and Acupuncture or Chewing Gum Alone on Postoperative Ileus in Colorectal Cancer Resection: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Colorectal cancer resection is one of the most common types of abdominal surgery. Though most patients undergoing colorectal resection show recovery of bowel movements within a week, some have prolonged intestinal paralysis or postoperative ileus, resulting in decreasing patient comfort, increasing morbidity and mortality, a longer hospital stay and subsequent increased healthcare costs.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Colorectal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: simo decoction; Other: gum chewing

Detailed Description

Prevention the incidence of postoperative ileus (POI) is quite important because of the negative clinical outcomes it causes. In the past two decades, many treatments and care approaches, such as fluid restriction, early enteral nutrition, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug are used for the management of POI. In theory of traditional Chinese medicine, oral simo decoction (SMD) or acupuncture at the tsusanli acupoint can boost gastrointestinal hypomotility. The efficacy of accelerating the return of gastrointestinal function by such single method or combination of them has been validated in randomized controlled trials and systematic review following several types of surgery. In recent years, chewing gum, a new and simple modality, has become a commonly applied method in order to prevent and reduce the POI. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses revealed that chewing gum provided significant benefits for the improvement of postoperative bowel function. More importantly, many official guidelines recommend chewing gum for an evidence-based approach in the prevention of POI. Despite these positive evidence, three newest randomized controlled trials are unable to demonstrate an effect of chewing gum on the recovery of bowel function after colorectal resection.

It is important to note that almost all previous randomized controlled trials are based on small sample size. This raises the question whether postoperative SMD, acupuncture at the tsusanli acupoint, or chewing gum can reduce risk of POI following colorectal resection among patients with large sample size. To examine this question, we conducted this randomized controlled trial to compare incidence of POI and length of hospital stay in colorectal cancer patients who received SMD and acupuncture, chewing gum or no intervention following resection.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 600
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangxi
    • Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
      • Yang Yang

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Underwent open or laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection
• Diagnosis of colorectal cancer was confirmed by histopathological examination of surgical samples in all patients

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previously underwent exploratory laparotomy
• Known Central Nervous System tumors including metastatic brain disease
• History of organ allograft
• Substance abuse, medical, psychological or social conditions that may interfere with the patient's participation in the study or evaluation of the study results
• Any condition that is unstable or which could jeopardize the safety of the patient and his/her compliance in the study
• Pregnant or breast-feeding patients

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: simo decoction and acupuncture with vitamin B1; Patients will receive simo decoction (10 mL/piece,three times per day) and bilateral tsusanli acupoint injections with vitamin B1 two times per day, starting in the first day after resection for 5 days or until flatus.	Dietary supplement: simo decoction; Participants allocated to SMD and acupuncture were asked to take oral SMD decoction (Hansen Co., Ltd., Yiyang, Hunan province, China, 10 mL/dose) three times per day beginning on the first day after colorectal resection. They also received bilateral injections of vitamin B1 (50 mg x 2) at the tsusanli acupoint one time per day. This intervention was performed for a total of 5 consecutive days or until flatus.
Active Comparator: gum chewing; Patients will receive gum chewing (three times per day) in the first day after resection for 5 days or until flatus.	Other: gum chewing; Participants allocated to chewing gum were instructed to chew commercially available sugar-free gum (Extra & Reg, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) three times daily starting on the first postoperative morning. They were instructed to chew the piece of gum for at least 10 min. This intervention was performed for 5 consecutive days or until flatus.
No Intervention: empty control; Patients only receive best support care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
First flatus time	one day
Length of hospital stay	one day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Guangxi Medical University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• van den Heijkant TC, Costes LM, van der Lee DG, Aerts B, Osinga-de Jong M, Rutten HR, Hulsewe KW, de Jonge WJ, Buurman WA, Luyer MD. Randomized clinical trial of the effect of gum chewing on postoperative ileus and inflammation in colorectal surgery. Br J Surg. 2015 Feb;102(3):202-11. doi: 10.1002/bjs.9691. Epub 2014 Dec 18.
• Atkinson C, Penfold CM, Ness AR, Longman RJ, Thomas SJ, Hollingworth W, Kandiyali R, Leary SD, Lewis SJ. Randomized clinical trial of postoperative chewing gum versus standard care after colorectal resection. Br J Surg. 2016 Jul;103(8):962-70. doi: 10.1002/bjs.10194. Epub 2016 May 5.
• Kobayashi T, Masaki T, Kogawa K, Matsuoka H, Sugiyama M. Efficacy of Gum Chewing on Bowel Movement After Open Colectomy for Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Dis Colon Rectum. 2015 Nov;58(11):1058-63. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000000452.
• Yang Y, Zuo HQ, Li Z, Qin YZ, Mo XW, Huang MW, Lai H, Wu LC, Chen JS. Comparison of efficacy of simo decoction and acupuncture or chewing gum alone on postoperative ileus in colorectal cancer resection: a randomized trial. Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 19;7:37826. doi: 10.1038/srep37826.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 22, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): June 24, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): June 27, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 23, 2016
• Last Verified: June 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: SMD/POI

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO