The effect of indirect moxibustion with the treatment of Ma Ren Pill on patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with constipation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the effects of indirect moxibustion combined with Ma Ren Pill on the time to resolution of constipation and respiratory symptoms, hospitalization duration, lung function, blood gas indicators, inflammatory factors, clinical efficacy, quality of life, and the incidence of adverse reactions in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) accompanied by constipation. METHODS: A total of 102 patients with AECOPD and constipation who received treatment at our hospital between March 2023 and March 2024 were included in this retrospective study. They were divided into two groups based on the treatment modalities recorded in the electronic medical record system: the control group (n = 49 treated with Ma Ren Pill) and the observation group (n = 53; treated with indirect moxibustion plus Ma Ren Pill). The times to recovery from constipation and respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function parameters (including forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF), and forced expiratory volume in the first second as a percentage of forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC)), blood gas indices (partial pressure of oxygen [PO$_2$] and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide [PCO$_2$]), inflammatory markers (interleukin-8[IL-8] tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and (CRP)), clinical efficacy, quality of life (assessed using the Comprehensive Quality of Life Assessment Questionnaire (GQOLI-74)), and the incidence of adverse reactions were evaluated and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the observation group showed significantly shorter times to resolution of constipation and shorter hospital stays, as well as significantly lower constipation symptom scores, respiratory symptom scores, and PCO₂, TNF-α, IL-8, and CRP levels compared with the control group, with statistically significant differences between the groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, the observation group had significantly higher PEF, FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, PO₂, and quality of life scores than the control group (p < 0.05). The total clinical effectiveness rate in the observation group was 98.11%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group's 83.67% (p < 0.05). The overall incidence of adverse reactions did not differ significantly between the two groups (7.55% vs. 4.08%, p = 0.457). CONCLUSION: Indirect moxibustion combined with Ma Ren Pill was associated with a shorter time to resolution of constipation. Furthermore, this regimen was associated with improved lung function, blood gas indices, quality of life, respiratory and constipation symptom severity, and inflammatory responses, while maintaining an acceptable safety profile. However, a causal relationship cannot be confirmed due to the retrospective, non-randomized design of this study.