By Shen Lida, Zhang canzhen and Li yunxia
　　Chemotherapy is one of the main therapies of malignant tumor, but most chemotherapeutic drugs have reactions of gastrointestinal tract to a different extent. Hiccup is one of the reactions of gastrointestinal tract, the continued hiccup often influence patients"emotion, appetite and sleep, adopting effective treatment, therefore, is very important. The authors have treated hiccup caused by chemotherapy using acupuncture at bilateral Zusanli and Neiguan, and got satisfactory result. It is reported as follows.

Clinical Data
　　1. Case Selection
　　Thirty cases were all patients of malignant tumor diagnosed definitely by the Department of Pathology of our hospital. Moreover, the diseases of central nervous system and intestinal obstruction were excluded, and hiccup occurred frequently after chemotherapy and was ineffective 2 hours after sedative and antispastic treatments with Western medicine, these patients were enrolled in this study. Among them, 6 cases were gastric carcinoma, 4 cases hepatocarcinoma, 10 cases pulmonary carcinoma, 5 cases malignant lymphatic tumor, 2 cases mammary cancer and 3 cases malignant tumor of soft tissue, males were 20 cases, females 10 cases, their age ranged from 21 to 69 years old with an average age of 51.

2. Therapeutic Method
　　Bilateral Zusanli and Neiguan were selected, the needles were inserted perpendicularly after routine sterilization, the depth of needle insertion was 3 cm and 2 cm respectively, then the needle was lifted and thrusted, twisted and twirled until feeling the sensation of soreness, numbness and distention, then retained for 15 -20 min, during the period. The needle was manipulated one time every 5 min, the acupuncture was given 1 - 2 times a day. If it was ineffective 2 hours after the first treatment, then the needling was given again. In the period of take any drugs.

3. Evaluation of the Therapeutic Effect
　　Marked effectiveness: Hiccup disappears after one acupuncture and not recurs. Effectiveness: Hiccup disappears after acupuncture for 2 - 4 times and not recurs. Ineffectiveness: Hiccup does not disappear after more than 5 times of acupuncture.

Results
　　Thirty cases were treated with above-mentioned treatment, 18 cases were markedly effective, 10 cases effective and 2 cases ineffective. The total effective rate was 93.3%. No patient had any adverse reaction after acupuncture.

Discussion
　　 Chemotherapy is one of main treatments for malignant tumor, but most chemotherapeutic drugs have reactions of gastrointestinal tract to a different extent, such as nausea and vomiting, poor appetite and hiccup, etc. Hiccup is calledas “Hui symptom"in traditional Chinese medicine, the cause of disease is mostly due to pathogenic factors and retention of something in the stomach, or reversed flow of qi due to violent angry, imbalance of ascending and descending of stomach qi, travelling of qi upward reversely. Modern medicine hold that hiccup is caused by phrenospasm, which is induced reflectively by stimulation of vagus nerve and phrenicnerve. It should be treated with etiological treatment principally. In clinic, Paspertinum is routinely used to relieve the spasm of smooth muscle and Diazepamum used to relax the muscular tension induced by the excitation of the central nervous system, but the effect is not satisfied. Some reference materials show that needling Zu-sanli point might not only regulate the function of nervous system, but could protect the nervous system from nociceptive stimulation. Neiguan point has functions of soothing the chest oppression and regulating the flow of qi, tranquilizing and allaying excitement, and lowering the ad-verse flow of qi to arrest vomiting. Both points are important acupoints to treat hiccup, combined use of these two points could soothe the chest oppression and regulate the stomach, lower adverse flow of qi and regulate qi, resulting in curing hiccup. This method is simple, inexpensive and practical`, moreover, it produced an instant effect with a short therapeutic course. So it is beneficial to application in clinic.