The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of Daikenchuto (DKT) on postoperative intestinal function and nutritional status of patients.
The subjects were 40 patients who had undergone immediate reconstruction with free tissue graft for the defect after radical surgery for advanced oral cancer from March 2008 to May 2013. Twenty patients were administered 15g DKT a day from postoperative day 1, while the other 20 patients served as controls without DKT administration. Intestinal function such as peristaltic sound, passage of flatus and bowel movement, start of enteral nutrition (EN), and amount and rate of body weight loss 2 weeks after surgery were evaluated. Peristaltic sound (p < 0.001), passage of flatus (p < 0.005), bowel movement (p < 0.005), and start of EN (p < 0.01) were observed earlier in the DKT group. The amount (p < 0.05) and rate (p < 0.05) of body weight loss were also smaller in the DKT group. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy or surgical stress did not affect these indexes. These results suggest that DKT is effective for the improvement of intestinal function and weight maintenance after reconstruction with free tissue graft in patients with advanced oral cancer.