Correlation analysis between TCM syndromes and clinical indicators in patients with small pulmonary nodules / 国际中医中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the correlation between TCM Syndromes of small pulmonary nodules (SPN) and the features of CT imaging and tumor markers in the chest.Methods:With retrospective study, the clinical data of 420 patients with small pulmonary nodules who were included from June 2016 to May 2018 from the East China Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and Shanghai TCM Integrated Hospital were analized. The correlation between TCM syndromes and clinical high-risk indicators was analyzed by frequency analysis and Pearson correlation analysis.Results:The TCM syndromes were mainly lung qi and spleen qi deficiency syndrome (28.8%), followed by qi and yin deficiency syndrome (27.6%), lung yin deficiency syndrome (22.9%), qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (12.4%) and liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome (8.3%). Compared with the patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis, the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency had carcino embryonic antigen (CEA) level decreased significantly ( P<0.01); compared with the patients with qi and yin deficiency, CYFRA21-1 level in the patients with lung yin deficiency increased significantly ( P<0.001) and CYFRA21-1 level decreased in the patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis ( P=0.014); compared with the patients with lung yin deficiency, the level of neuron-specific- enolase (NSE) in the patients with lung qi and spleen qi deficiency. The level of NSE decreased ( P=0.044), and the level of NSE increased significantly in patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency ( P=0.005); there was no significant difference in the level of SCC between different syndromes ( F=0.825, P=0.551). The syndrome of deficiency of lung yin was moderately correlated with chronic bronchitis, smooth margin and burr ( r=0.613, -0.628, 0.755). The syndrome of qi and yin deficiency was lowly correlation to the solidity ( r=-0.421). The syndrome of lung qi and spleen qi deficiency was moderately correlation with the solidity ( r=0.540), and were low correlation with the chronic bronchitis history, ground glass, round, quasi round, and smooth edge ( r value was 0.303, -0.495, 0.376, -0.337, 0.319 respectively); liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome were correlated with smoking history, chronic bronchitis history, left lower lobe of lung, isolated focus, multiple focus, quasi circle, NSE ( r value was -0.099, -0.150, 0.120, 0.113, -0.113, -0.107, 0.133 respectively); qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome was moderately correlated with lobular shape ( r=0.682), and slightly correlated with irregular edge ( r=0.470). Conclusions:There is a certain correlation between TCM syndrome differentiation and clinical indexes in patients with pulmonary nodules. The level of tumor markers was different in different syndrome types. Among them, the lung yin deficiency syndrome and qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome are at high risk of developing malignant tumors, but the lung qi and spleen qi deficiency syndrome, qi and yin deficiency syndrome and liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome are at low risk of developing malignant tumors.