ABSTRACT
Objective To study the therapeutic effect of Tibetan medicine Flos Saussureae combined with glucocorticoid for progressive stage of radiation pneumonia.Methods A total of 65 post-chemotherapy radiation pneumonia patients with esophageal carcinoma were randomized into western medicine group(20 cases),combined group (21 cases) and Flos Saussureae group (24 cases),which were treated with prednisone (1 mg/kg,orally),prednisone (0.5 mg/kg,orally) plus Flos Saussureae Injection (2 mL/d,by intramuscular injection),and Flos Saussureae Injection (4 mL/d,by intramuscular injection) respectively.The medication lasted for 6 weeks.Before and after treatment,we investigated the scores of chest high resolution CT(HRCT),Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) scores,6-minute walk distance,pulmonary function indexes of vital capacity (VC),total lung capacity (TLC) and diffusion function DLco,and arterial oxygen partial pressure(PO2).Results (1) The scores of HRCT,6-minute walk distance and LCQ scores of the combined group were improved as compared with those of western medicine group and Flos Saussureae group (P ＜ 0.05).The improvement of psychological scores,social function scores and overall socres of LCQ in Flos Saussureae group was superior to that in western medicine group (P ＜0.05).(2)After treatment,pulmonary function indexes and PO2 of the combined group and Flos Saussureae group were improved compared with those of western medicine group (P ＜ 0.05),and the improvement of DLco and PO2 of the combined group was superior to that of Flos Saussureae group (P＜ 0.05).Conclusion Flos Saussureae Injection combined with glucocorticoid exerts certain therapeutic effect for progressive stage of radiation pneumonia,and large-dose Flos Saussureae Injection is beneficial to the improvement of symptoms and imaging features of the patients.