Clinical efficacy of umbilical therapy with herbal cakes of different dosages for damp-heat diarrhea in young children / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of umbilical therapy with herbal cakes made of Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang prescription of different dosages in treating damp-heat diarrhea in young children. Methods: Seventy-two kids with diarrhea of damp-heat pattern were recruited and divided into a high-dosage group and a low-dosage group using the random number table method, with 36 cases in each group. They all received conventional antidiarrheal treatment and umbilical application with herbal cakes. However, the herbal cakes for the high-dosage group were made of the mixture of Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang powder and water, and those for the low-dosage group consisted of 10％ Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang powder and 90％ auxiliary materials (corn starch) plus water. The treatment duration was 3 d. The clinical efficacy, antidiarrheal rate, effective rate for symptoms and signs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), TCM symptoms score, and safety indicators were compared between the two groups. Results: After the treatment, the TCM symptoms scores dropped significantly in both groups (P<0.01) and were lower in the high-dosage group than in the low-dosage group (P<0.05). The clinical efficacy was more significant in the high-dosage group than in the low-dosage group after the treatment, and the between-group difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); the antidiarrheal rate was markedly higher in the high-dosage group than in the low-dosage group (P<0.05). Regarding the TCM symptoms and signs, the high-dosage group showed better results in improving the greasy and yellowish tongue coating, bowel movement frequency, watery excrement, short and dark urine, red tongue body, red anus, vomiting, bowel sounds, and abdominal bloating compared with the low-dosage group, and the between-group differences were statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: Umbilical therapy with herbal cakes made of Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang is safe, reliable, and effective in treating damp-heat diarrhea in young children; the high-dosage herbal cakes produce more significant efficacy than the low-dosage ones and are worth further investigation.