Medical Economic Impact of Daikenchuto in Colon and Rectal Cancer Surgery: A Nationwide Observational Study.
- 1Department of Surgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Abstract
Daikenchuto is a traditional Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo) that has been widely used because of its low cost and minimal side effects. It is used for early patient recovery after abdominal surgery and to prevent postoperative paralytic ileus in various surgeries, including colon and rectal cancer. Many studies have reported the usefulness of perioperative administration of Daikenchuto; however, few have examined its association with healthcare economics. This observational study used data from the National Database (NDB) Sampling Dataset. This study included patients with colon or rectal cancer who underwent colectomy, anterior resection (AR), low anterior resection (LAR), or abdominoperineal resection (APR) between January 2013 and December 2022. The comparison was based on Daikenchuto administration. Overall, 3,759 patients underwent colectomy (Daikenchuto -: 3,111 vs. Daikenchuto +: 648), 675 underwent AR (567 vs. 108), 1,269 underwent LAR (1,105 vs. 164), and 348 underwent APR (310 vs. 38). Postoperative hospital stay was shorter in patients who received Daikenchuto: for colectomy, 13.8 vs. 13.0 days (P = 0.001); for AR, 15.3 vs. 13.0 days (P = 0.002); for LAR, 17.6 vs. 14.5 days (P < 0.001); and for APR, 22.9 vs. 19.7 days (P = 0.007). Medical costs per patient were lower among patients receiving Daikenchuto by 25,412 yen for colectomy, 68,494 yen for AR, 92,407 yen for LAR, and 94,361 yen for APR. Perioperative Daikenchuto administration was associated with shortened the length of hospital stay and lower postoperative hospitalization costs in colon and rectal cancer surgeries.
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BibTeX
@article{hoshino2026medical,
title = {{Medical Economic Impact of Daikenchuto in Colon and Rectal Cancer Surgery: A Nationwide Observational Study.}},
author = {Nobuaki Hoshino and Takashi Sakamoto and Takehito Yamamoto and Yu Yoshida and Keiko Kasahara and Ryosuke Okamura and Masahiro Maeda and Yoshiro Itatani and Koya Hida and Kazutaka Obama},
journal = {Journal of the anus, rectum and colon},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.23922/jarc.2026-053},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952882},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Medical Economic Impact of Daikenchuto in Colon and Rectal Cancer Surgery: A Nationwide Observational Study.
AU - Nobuaki Hoshino
AU - Takashi Sakamoto
AU - Takehito Yamamoto
AU - Yu Yoshida
AU - Keiko Kasahara
AU - Ryosuke Okamura
AU - Masahiro Maeda
AU - Yoshiro Itatani
AU - Koya Hida
AU - Kazutaka Obama
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Journal of the anus, rectum and colon
DO - 10.23922/jarc.2026-053
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952882
AB - Daikenchuto is a traditional Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo) that has been widely used because of its low cost and minimal side effects. It is used for early patient recovery after abdominal surgery and to prevent postoperative paralytic ileus in various surgeries, including colon and rectal cancer. Many studies have reported the usefulness of perioperative administration of Daikenchuto; however, few have examined its association with healthcare economics. This observational study used data from the National Database (NDB) Sampling Dataset. This study included patients with colon or rectal cancer who underwent colectomy, anterior resection (AR), low anterior resection (LAR), or abdominoperineal resection (APR) between January 2013 and December 2022. The comparison was based on Daikenchuto administration. Overall, 3,759 patients underwent colectomy (Daikenchuto -: 3,111 vs. Daikenchuto +: 648), 675 underwent AR (567 vs. 108), 1,269 underwent LAR (1,105 vs. 164), and 348 underwent APR (310 vs. 38). Postoperative hospital stay was shorter in patients who received Daikenchuto: for colectomy, 13.8 vs. 13.0 days (P = 0.001); for AR, 15.3 vs. 13.0 days (P = 0.002); for LAR, 17.6 vs. 14.5 days (P < 0.001); and for APR, 22.9 vs. 19.7 days (P = 0.007). Medical costs per patient were lower among patients receiving Daikenchuto by 25,412 yen for colectomy, 68,494 yen for AR, 92,407 yen for LAR, and 94,361 yen for APR. Perioperative Daikenchuto administration was associated with shortened the length of hospital stay and lower postoperative hospitalization costs in colon and rectal cancer surgeries.
SN - 2432-3853
ER -