International Research in Chinese Medicine

Objective To apply Zheng’s “Tongji Hefu Formula” to intractable hiccups and explore its application value. Methods Twenty-four patients with intractable hiccups admitted to the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Acupuncture Department and the Department of Gastroenterology of the Affiliated Hospital of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine were selected. All patients were treated with Zheng's “Tongji Hefu Formula”. The changes in relevant scores before and after treatment and the total clinical effective rate were analyzed. Results Compared with before treatment, the scores of Wang’s hiccups symptoms of the patients in terms of diet, sleep quality, mental status, etc. all increased (P<0.05), while the scores of TCM syndromes and concomitant symptoms, as well as the total clinical symptom score, all decreased (P<0.05). After treatment, 12 cases were cured, 8 cases showed significant improvement, 3 cases were effective, and 1 case was ineffective. The total effective rate was 95.80%. Conclusion For patients with intractable hiccups, the application of Zheng’s “Tongji Hefu Formula” can achieve definite therapeutic effects and improve relevant scores such as TCM syndromes and clinical symptoms, which has high application value.

Intractable hiccups; Zheng’s “formula for unblocking the spine and harmonizing the bowels”; Zheng kuishan