Experimental and clinical study on 553 patients with acute pancreatitis treated by rhubarb alone

AIM To study on the efficacy and mechanism of rhubarb alone in the treatment of acute pancreatitis. METHODS 428 patients with acute edematous pancreatitis were treated with crude rhubarb alone, 225 patients with rhubarb plus western medicines. 125 patients with acute hem-orrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis were treated with high dose alcoholic extract tablet of rhubarb plus ordinary western drugs. And 107 patients were treated with ordinary western drugs only.RESULTS The efficacy of rhubarb in the treatment of edematous pancreatitis was 100%, and it was 83.2% with good results, being better than that of western drugs. In the rhubarb therapy, the course was shorter (P0. 01) with lower operation rate and mortality rate. It also had the merits of being cheap, convenient and achieving quick recovery. The alcoholic extract tablet of rhubarb can defend membrane of pancreatic cells from endotoxemia in animal models of a-cute pancreatitis.CONCLUSION Rhubarb is an excelent medicine in the treatment of pancreatitis.