Taohong Siwu Decoction-based targeted drug penetration therapy combined with standard anticoagulation was associated with a lower incidence of early postoperative DVT and favorable differences in coagulation, inflammatory, and venous hemodynamic parameters.
Deep vein thrombosis occurred significantly less frequently in patients receiving adjunctive Taohong Siwu Decoction-based therapy compared to standard LMWH prophylaxis alone.
After adjustment for age and baseline D-dimer, adjunctive Taohong Siwu Decoction therapy remained independently associated with a lower likelihood of postoperative DVT.
The observation group demonstrated more favorable coagulation parameters after 10 days of treatment compared to the control group.
Inflammatory marker levels were lower in the observation group than in the control group after 10 days of treatment.
Femoral venous blood flow velocities were higher in the observation group compared to the control group after treatment.
Postoperative pain scores and limb swelling were lower in the observation group than in the control group after 10 days.
No statistically significant difference in overall adverse-event occurrence was found between the two groups, and no severe treatment-related adverse events were recorded.
The study was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent hip fracture surgery over a one-year period at a single center.
This research examines whether adding a traditional Chinese herbal remedy — Taohong Siwu Decoction, administered via a targeted drug penetration method — to standard blood-thinning treatment (low-molecular-weight heparin) could help prevent dangerous blood clots in the legs after hip fracture surgery. Looking back at records from 86 patients treated over one year, researchers compared those who received the combined treatment to those who received standard care alone. They found that blood clots (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT) formed in only about 2% of patients receiving the combined therapy, compared to about 23% of patients receiving standard care only — a substantial difference that remained statistically meaningful even after accounting for patient age and initial clotting marker levels. Beyond clot rates, patients receiving the combined treatment also showed better results across several other measurements after 10 days: their blood took longer to clot (suggesting appropriate anticoagulation), they had lower levels of inflammation markers (TNF-alpha and IL-6), faster blood flow in their leg veins, less pain, and less limb swelling. Importantly, there were no serious safety concerns or significant differences in side effects between the two groups, suggesting the herbal therapy was well-tolerated when added to standard care. This research suggests that combining Taohong Siwu Decoction-based therapy with standard anticoagulation may offer additional protection against post-surgical blood clots and related complications. However, because this was a retrospective study — meaning it looked back at existing records rather than randomly assigning treatments — it cannot definitively prove that the herbal therapy caused these improvements. Larger, randomized controlled trials would be needed to confirm these findings and establish the therapy's role in routine clinical practice.
Sun K, Chen X, Zhou X, Zheng J, Hu H, Shen Z. (2026). Taohong Siwu Decoction-Based Targeted Drug Penetration Therapy for Deep Vein Thrombosis After Hip Fracture Surgery: A Retrospective Study.. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. https://doi.org/10.3791/72100