Clinical evaluation of Suanzaoren decoction for sleep disturbance and cancer-related fatigue in patients with lung cancer receiving chemotherapy: A retrospective study.

This retrospective study investigated the potential effects of Suanzaoren decoction (SZRD) on sleep quality and cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Clinical data were collected from 84 hospitalized patients with sleep disturbances between June 2021 and December 2022. According to treatment records, 38 patients received SZRD in addition to standard nursing care, while 37 patients received standard care alone. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and fatigue was evaluated with the cancer fatigue scale. For patients with available records, objective sleep parameters were obtained from actigraphy monitoring. The baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups. Patients who received SZRD had significantly lower PSQI scores after treatment compared with the control group (P < .05). Fatigue scores were also markedly reduced in the SZRD group (P < .05). Actigraphy records indicated that total sleep duration and the proportion of deep sleep were higher in the SZRD group (P < .05), while other parameters showed no significant differences between groups (P > .05). No adverse reactions were recorded. These findings suggest that SZRD may be associated with improved subjective sleep quality and reduce CRF in lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, with potential benefits also reflected in some objective sleep parameters. However, given the retrospective design and limited sample size, further prospective, large-scale studies are warranted to confirm these results.