[Effects of Hengyan medicinal recipe on the regulation of immunity in patients with severe sepsis: a prospective clinical trial].

Objective: To observe the role of Hengyan medicinal recipe on the regulation of immunity in patients with severe sepsis.

Methods: Patients with severe sepsis included in the study were randomly divided into two groups. Hengyan medicinal recipe group (n=22), in which patients were treated with Hengyan medicinal recipe 50 ml, 3 times daily, for 7 days.The recipe was composed of Bombyx batryticatus 10 g, Cicada slough 10 g, Curcuma 10 g, Rhubarb 3 g, Radix astragalus 10 g, Radix ophiopogonis 10 g, Red ginseng 10 g, Paeony 10 g, Walnut kernel 10 g, Safflower 10 g, combined with western medicine treatment.The patients in control group (n=23) were treated with western medicine same as above. In all patients the number of bowel movement and the scores of acute physiology and chronic health evaluationII (APACHEII) were recorded. Blood was taken for the determination of the levels of interleukins (IL-6, IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+) T cell before and 1, 3, 7 days after the treatment.

Results: Compared with the control group, the number of bowel movement, scores of APACHEII and IL-6, IL-10, IL-6/IL-10, TNF-α in Hengyan medicinal recipe group were decreased significantly at 7 days, while the levels of CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+) T cell were increased significantly [the number of bowel movement (times): 2.1±0.7 vs. 0.6±0.6, APACHEII score: 13.8±5.6 vs. 16.8±5.6, IL-6 (ng/L): 45 (32, 89) vs. 80 (41, 116), IL-10 (ng/L): 4.2 (3.6, 9.8) vs. 6.6 (3.5, 10.6), IL-6/IL-10:10.6 (7.2, 24.8) vs. 12.8 (7.6, 28.8), TNF-α (ng/L):4.2±2.6 vs. 5.6±2.7, CD3(+): 6.59±2.80 vs. 5.65±2.92, CD4(+): 3.65±2.17 vs. 3.25±2.46, CD8(+): 2.73±1.29 vs. 2.26±1.48, P<0.05 or P<0.01].

Conclusion: Hengyan medicinal recipe could not only reduce the systemic inflammation, but also plays a role in bidirectional regulation of the immune disturbance to ameliorate immune suppression of sepsis patients.