Professor Du’s Experience in Treating Chronic Atrophic Gastritis from the Perspective of the Shaoyang Pivot Using Xiaochaihu Decoction

Abstract

This article systematically summarizes Professor Du’s clinical experience in treating chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) with modified Xiaochaihu Decoction. Based on the theory of Six-Meridian transmission from the Shanghan Lun, Professor Du posits that CAG patients often present with emotional distress and qi stagnation. Prolonged illness leads to phlegm-stasis binding and the internal generation of toxic evils, resulting in various complications. Professor Du takes the dysfunction of the Shaoyang Pivot as the core pathological element and utilizes Xiaochaihu Decoction as the foundational formula for flexible modification. Tailoring the treatment precisely to the patient’s specific manifestations through detailed syndrome differentiation enables the restoration of pivot mechanism function, regulation of qi dynamics, and subsequent resolution of symptoms.