Earlier Acupuncture Enhancing Long-Term Effects on Motor Dysfunction in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Earlier Acupuncture Enhancing Long-Term Effects on Motor Dysfunction in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Retrospective Cohort Study. Am J Chin Med. 2020 Dec 10;:1-16 Authors: Xu J, Pei J, Fu QH, Wang LY, Zhan YJ, Tao L Abstract Stroke is the leading fatal disease in China. This retrospective study aimed to explore the optimal acupuncture intervention time for long-term efficacy on motor dysfunction in patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke through 1-year of follow-up. Three hundred and nine patients collected at Longhua Hospital from January 2016 to December 2017 were classified into 3 groups based on the acupuncture intervention time, including groups A (within 2 days), B (within 3-7 days) and C (within 8-14 days). All patients had received standard treatment combined with acupuncture therapy. Specifically, acupuncture was performed at the acupoints including LI4 (Hegu), ST40 (Fenglong), DU20 (Baihui), and motor area of the scalp, followed by 2 electroacupuncture protocols based on different muscle tensions once a day for 5 days consecutively. The time-effect relationship was assessed using both the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and the modified Barthel index (MBI) on the 90th day and 1st year, respectively. Meanwhile, the modified Rankin scale (mRS), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and fibrinogen (FIB) were also measured during the 1-year follow-up. The favorable outcome rate was 74.4%. One-way univariate analysis of varia...
Source: The American Journal of Chinese Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Chin Med Source Type: research