OBJECTIVETo explore the significance of application of Dannang Recipe No. 2 (DNR2), a Chinese herbal preparation, in the perioperative period of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

METHODSThree hundred and sixty patients with LC were randomly assigned to two groups, 180 in each group. The treatment group was treated with DNR2 in the perioperative period, one dose of the recipe composed of aucklandia root 10 g, red peony root 15 g, giant knotweed rhizome 10 g, scutellaria root 10 g, honeysuckle flower 15 g, forsythia fruit 10 g, rhubarb 9 g, immature bitter orange 10 g, magnolia bark 10 g, peach kernel 10 g, red sage root 20 g and licorice root 4 g, which was boiled with water and taken one dose per day, starting from the previous night of operation. The control group was treated by antibiotic with Ceftizoxime sodium 2.0 g or Levofloxacin 200 mg via intravenous dripping once 0.5 h before operation preventively and 1-3 days after operation according to patients' condition. The indexes, including recovery time of borborygmus, gas elimination and defecation, post-operation body temperature, days needing fluid transfusion, hospitalization time, incidence of infectious complication, as well as the white blood cell counting (WBC) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) before and after operation, were analyzed and compared between groups.

RESULTSThe recovery time of borborygmus, gas elimination and defecation were shorter in the treatment group as compared with that in the control group (10.42 +/- 4.38 h vs. 17.11 +/- 6.25 h, 15.60 +/- 5.03 h vs. 32.74 +/- 9.43 h and 38.81 +/- 9.87 h vs. 56.09 +/- 11.00 h, respectively) and all the other indexes were better in the treatment group than those in the control group, showing significant difference (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), except the incidence of postoperative infectious complication, it was similar in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONApplication of DNR2 in perioperative stage of laparoscopic cholecystectomy can effectively promote the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal motility and suppress the occurrence of acute inflammation.