Objective

2

To observe the clinical effect of modified Zengyetang in treating slow transit constipation （STC） due to Qi-Yin deficiency and its effect on gastrointestinal function.

Method

2

One hundred and thirty eligible patients were randomly divided into a control group （

n

=65， 6 cases dropped out or were lost to follow-up and 59 completed the trial） and a treatment group （

n

=65， 3 cases dropped out or were lost to follow-up and 62 completed the trial）. Patients in the control group received oral mosapride citrate dispersible tablets， 5 mg per time， three times per day， while those in the treatment group were treated with modified Zengye Tang， one bag per day， for four successive weeks. The main symptom constipation， the Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms （PAC-SYM）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， colonic transit， as well as motilin （MTL）， vasoactive intestinal peptide （VIP）， and substance P （SP） levels before and after treatment were recorded， together with the frequency of spontaneous complete bowel movements （SCBMs） per week and STC recurrence during treatment.

Result

2

The clinical efficacy （95.16%） of the treatment group was higher than that （81.36%） of the control group （

χ

2

=5.631 4，

P

<

0.05）， whereas the recurrence rate （30.65%） of the treatment group was significantly lower than that （57.63%） of the control group （

χ

2

=8.941 1，

P

<

0.01）. After treatment， the main symptom constipation， three sub-scale and total PAC-SYM， and TCM syndrome scores in the treatment group were obviously decreased as compared with those in the control group （

P

<

0.01）. The proportions of residual markers at 24， 48， and 72 h in the treatment group declined in contrast to those in the control group （

P

<

0.01）. The frequency of SCBMs per week in the 2

nd

， 3

rd

， and 4

th

weeks of the treatment group was higher than that in the control group （

P

<

0.01）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the treatment group exhibited significantly elevated MTL and SP but lowered VIP （

P

<

0.01）.

Conclusion

2

Modified Zengyetang relieves the clinical symptoms， regulates gastrointestinal hormone secretion， increases the frequency of SCBMs， enhances colonic transit， and decreases the recurrence of patients with STC due to Qi-Yin deficiency.