A study on the improvement of gastrointestinal function and quality of life in patients with lung cancer after chemotherapy by combining traditional Chinese medicine acupoint moxibustion and psychological nursing

Abstract

Introduction/Objective The aim was to investigate the effects of combined Chinese medicine acupoint moxibustion and psychological nursing on the gastrointestinal function and quality of life (QoL) of patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods A total of 120 lung cancer patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group received conventional care, while the observation group was administered combined traditional Chinese medicine acupoint moxibustion and emotional nursing. The observation indicators included serum acetylcholinesterase activity, plasma inhibin B, gastrin, motilin, dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine levels, incidence and duration of nausea/vomiting, Self-rating anxiety scale and Self-rating depression scale scores, and World Health Organization QoL-BREF scores.

Results Before intervention, no significant differences were observed between groups (p > 0.05). Post-intervention, the observation group showed significantly higher acetylcholinesterase activity (7.64 ± 1.17 U/mL vs. 6.96 ± 1.11 U/mL, p < 0.001) and inhibin B levels (193.52 ± 15.72 pg/mL vs. 166.77 ± 20.36 pg/mL, p < 0.001), lower gastrin (146.7 ± 13.02 ng/L vs. 157.35 ± 14.4 ng/L, p < 0.001) and motilin levels (151.55 ± 9.99 pmol/L vs. 158.22 ± 8.37 pmol/L, p < 0.001), reduced incidence (2.83 ± 0.64 times/day vs. 3.12 ± 0.67 times/day, p < 0.001) and duration (1.7 ± 0.5 d vs. 2.97 ± 0.64 d, p < 0.001) of nausea/vomiting, lower Self-rating anxiety scale (40.55 ± 2.79 vs. 47.06 ± 4.12, p < 0.001) and Self-rating depression scale (39.82 ± 2.81 vs. 47.25 ± 4.5, p < 0.001) scores, and higher QoL total scores (309.44 ± 9.11 vs. 294.56 ± 8.45, p < 0.001) than the control group.

Conclusion The combined use of Chinese medicine acupoint moxibustion and traditional Chinese medicine emotional care for patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy has significant effects, which can significantly improve their gastrointestinal function and effectively improve their anxiety and depression symptoms, and improve their QoL.

Keywords: lung cancer; traditional Chinese medicine acupoint moxibustion; emotional care; gastrointestinal function; quality of life