Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Combination of Chinese Herbal Fumigation Sitz-Bath and Red Ointment in Managing Postoperative Wound Healing and Pain Control in Anal Fistula Patients

Objective. To explore the efficacy of Chinese herbal fumigation and sitz-bath combined with red ointment in the treatment of postoperative wound healing and pain control in anal fistula patients. Methods. A total of 118 anal fistula patients were selected as the study population, randomly divided into two groups, i.e., the research group (n = 60) and the control group (n = 60). The control group was treated with red ointment therapy for postoperative wound healing and pain while the research group was treated with a combination of ointment and traditional Chinese medicine fumigation sitz-bath, Postoperative wound healing, pain control, and safety evaluation were compared between the two groups. Results. The total effective rate in the research group was 96.67%, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (93.10%), and the difference was statistically significant ( $P<0.05$ ). The VAS scores and postoperative wound healing times in the research group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The difference was statistically significant ( $P<0.05$ ). A day after postoperative treatment, there was no significant difference ( $P>0.05$ ) in TNF-α and IL-6 levels between the two study groups; however, from day 3 to day 14 the levels were statistically different. TNF-α and IL-6 levels in research group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The difference was statistically significant ( $P<0.05$ ). The incidence of postoperative complications in the research group at 6.67% was statistically significant ( $P<0.05$ ), significantly lower than 13.79% in the control group. Conclusion. Postoperative intervention with Chinese herbal fumigation and sitz-bath combined with red ointment can effectively reduce the wound healing duration and lower the degree of pain experienced by anal fistula patients, thereby improving their quality of life.