Rhubarb in prevention and treatment of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in traumatic shock

Objective:To study the preventive and therapeutic effects of rhubarb on multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS) in patients with traumatic shock. Methods:Totally 236 patients suffered from traumatic shock were selected from Jan.1999 to Dec.2003 in general intensive care unit (GICU) of Changzheng Hospital and were classified into 2 groups: rhubarb treatment group(Group A,n=124) and non-rhubarb treatment group(Group B,n=124).PaO 2/FiO 2,SCr,BUN,ALT,AST,IgA,IgG ,IgM,incidence of gastrointestinal dysfunction,days in hospital and mortality were compared in 2 groups.Results:There were slight improvement of PaO 2/FiO 2,SCr,BUN,ALT,AST and IgG in group B but significant improvement in group A(P0.05,P0.01).Incidences of MODS in group A and group B were 22.6% and 40.2%(P0.05),incidences of gastrointestinal dysfunction were 8.87% vs 33.03%(P0.05),days in hospital were (16.7±6.9) vs (22.8±7.6) (P0.05),and mortality were 9.68% vs 22.3%,respectively (P0.01). Conclusion:Rhubarb has protective effects on organs including lung,kidney,liver,gastrointestine,and immune organs,reducing the incidence of MODS,shortening hospital day and lowering the mortality.It can be used in treating traumatic shock clinically.