[Observation on intestinal flora in patients of irritable bowel syndrome after treatment of Chinese integrative medicine].

OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical efficacy of the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the result of intestinal flora regulation. METHODS Sixty IBS patients, 36 males and 24 females, were divided into two groups, with 30 patients in each group. Herbal formula of TongxieYaofang and clostridium butyricum (Cb) were used in the first group for four weeks, while only Cb was used for four weeks in the second group. We observed the changes of coliform group, enterococcus, lactobacillus, bifidobacterium after treatment. RESULTS The effective rate of the Tongxie Yaofang and Cb treated group was significantly higher than that of the Cb treated group (P < 0.05). The numbers of bifidobacterium and lactobacillus increased, while the numbers of coliform group and enterococcus decreased after the treatment, and the changes of intestinal flora in the integrative medicine treated group were significantly greater than those in the Cb treated group. CONCLUSION After treatment with the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, the intestinal flora can be regulated to equilibrium state.