Table 1 Inclusion, exclusion, and elimination criteria

Inclusion criteria

Patients who have undergone surgery for gastric or colorectal cancer, or hysterectomy for hysteromyoma

Age 40–75 years old

Duration of surgery, 1–4 h

Time under anesthesia, 1.5–4.5 h

TCM syndrome, Qi deficiency and Qi stagnation

Provision of signed, informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Advanced malignant tumor cachexia, extreme weakness

Malignant tumors requiring extended radical surgery

Cardiovascular, liver, kidney, brain, or lung co-morbidity, or other serious diseases

Poorly controlled hypertension or diabetes

Mental disability

Allergy to the intervention

Pregnant or breast-feeding women

Severe malnutrition (serum albumin < 21 g/L, pre-albumin < 0.1 g/L)

Repeated abdominal surgery and severe intestinal adhesions

Blood loss > 400 mL during surgery

Serious complications occurring within 6 h after surgery (e.g., multiple organ dysfunction)

Postoperative intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion

Emergency surgery

Prokinetic drugs prescribed after surgery

Patient participating in another clinical study, or having participated in another clinical study in the previous month

Patient considered inappropriate to participate the study by clinical investigators

Elimination criteria

Do not meet the inclusion criteria, but mistakenly included

Worsening condition that cannot be controlled in 3 days

Other complications because of interventions, including severe allergy or serious adverse events

Serious complications, infection, or requiring a second operation during treatment

Refusal to continue the treatment, regardless of the reason