Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 5 Table 3: The combination of deﬁciency of Qi with other syndromes. Patients with Qi deﬁciency Qi deﬁciency (pure) Coexistence with Qi deﬁciency Qi stagnation Blood (Yin) deﬁciency Yang deﬁciency Excess heat Qi stagnation and blood (Yin) deﬁciency Qi stagnation and Yang deﬁciency Qi stagnation and excess heat Deﬁciency of blood (Yin) and Yang Qi stagnation and deﬁciency of blood (Yin) and Yang Qi stagnation, excess heat, and deﬁciency of blood (Yin) and Yang Number of patients (%) 210/225 (93.3%) 70/210 (33.3%) 39/210 (18.6%) 31/210 (14.8%) 18/210 (8.6%) 5/210 (2.4%) 16/210 (7.6%) 14/210 (6.7%) 4/210 (1.9%) 6/210 (2.9%) 6/210 (2.9%) 1/210 (0.5%) Table 4: Prevalence of symptoms and signs among three patterns. Deﬁciency (n = 127) Excess (n = 7) Pale/sallow complexion 59 (46.5%) 0 (0%) Bitter taste 28 (22.0%) 2 (28.6%) Fatigue 122 (96.1%) 4 (57.1%) Mind disquieted/susceptible to fright 66 (52.0%) 0 (0%) Belching/nausea/vomiting 18 (14.2%) 4 (57.1%) Stuﬃness and fullness of chest 5 (3.9%) 1 (14.3%) Abdominal distension/pain 9 (7.1%) 1 (14.3%) Water retention (with pleural/abdominal ﬂuid) 0 (0%) 1 (14.3%) Anorexia 47 (37.0%) 1 (14.3%) Insomnia 36 (28.3%) 4 (57.1%) Vacuous pulse 9 (7.1%) 3 (42.9%) Description of constipation symptoms Inadequate pushing force during defecation 54 (42.5%) 1 (14.3%) Incomplete defecation 20 (15.7%) 0 (0%) Diﬃcult defecation 31 (24.4%) 1 (14.3%) Deﬁciency: deﬁcient pattern; excess: excessive pattern; complex: deﬁciency-excess complex. Only the symptoms and signs with signiﬁcant diﬀerences among three syndrome patterns were listed in the table. Complex (n = 91) 28 (30.8%) 37 (40.7%) 82 (90.1%) 50 (54.9%) 57 (62.6%) 40 (44.0%) 57 (62.6%) 13 (14.3%) 46 (50.5%) 40 (44.0%) 5 (5.5%) 58 (63.7%) 27 (29.7%) 37 (40.7%) P value 0.007 0.012 <0.001 0.019 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 0.044 0.029 0.001 0.001 0.017 0.024 Table 5: The relationship between severity of constipation and opioids intake with the pattern distribution. Deﬁciency (n = 127) Excess (n = 7) Complex (n = 91) P value Severity (mean ± SD) 3.19 ± 1.85 3.29 ± 2.21 3.91 ± 1.57 0.012 No constipation 32 (25.2%) 3 (42.9%) 9 (9.9%) Constipation 63 (49.6%) 1 (14.35%) 50 (54.9%) 0.013 Severe constipation 32 (25.2%) 3 (42.9%) 32 (35.2%) With opioids 73 (57.5%) 4 (57.1%) 60 (65.9%) 0.442 With strong opioids 29 (22.8%) 2 (28.6%) 26 (28.6%) 0.618 With weak opioids 49 (38.6%) 2 (28.6%) 36 (39.6%) 0.847 Deﬁciency: deﬁcient pattern; excess: excessive pattern; complex: deﬁciency-excess complex. Severity of constipation was evaluated with an 8-point ordinal rating scale, where 0-1 indicated no constipation, 2–4 indicated constipation, and 5–7 indicated severe constipation. Strong opioids included morphine, methadone, and fentanyl, while weak opioids included tramadol, dihydrocodeine, dextropropoxyphene, and codeine.