The efficacy of acupuncture-assisted blind insertion of bullet nasointestinal tube method in patients with ischemic stroke: A retrospective study.

Objective: To explore the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture-assisted blind insertion of bullet nasointestinal tube method in patients with ischemic stroke.

Methods: This is a retrospective study using clinical records of 180 patients with ischemic stroke, hospitalized in the Department of Neurology of the Zhejiang Province Tertiary Class A Hospital, Huzhou, China from July 2022 to June 2023. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the nasogastric tube insertion method. We selected 90 patients for each group from the database of records by using a random list method. Patients in the observation group underwent TCM acupuncture-assisted blind insertion of nasointestinal tube and those in the control group underwent the traditional bedside blind insertion of bullet nasointestinal tube. Success rate of tube insertion, average tube insertion time, intragastric insertion time, stomach time to jejunal insertion, patient comfort, and patient satisfaction in both groups were compared.

Results: The success rate of nasointestinal tube insertion was significantly higher in the observation group compared to the control group (96.6% and 88.9%, p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the time of nasoenteral tube insertion into the stomach (p>0.05). The insertion time from stomach to jejunum in the observation group was significantly shorter than in the control group (p<0.05). The patient comfort and satisfaction levels were significantly higher in the observation group compared to the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: TCM acupuncture-assisted blind insertion of bullet nasointestinal tube method improves the success rate of tube insertion, shortens the average catheterization time from the stomach to the jejunum and improves patient's comfort and satisfaction.