ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To observe the clinical effect and safety of acupuncture in treatment of neck pain due to cervical spondylosis.@*METHODS@#According to the patients' preference and acceptance for the interventions of neck pain induced by cervical spondylosis, an acupuncture group (221 cases) and a non-acupuncture group (251 cases) were divided. After the control of confounding factors with propensity score matching, 218 cases were included in either acupuncture group or non-acupuncture group. In the acupuncture group, acupuncture was applied to Dazhui (GV 14), Baihui (GV 20), ashi points, bilateral neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2), Fengchi (GB 20), Houxi (SI 3), Shenmai (BL 62), etc. The treatment was given once daily, one course of intervention was composed of 5 treatments and 3 courses were included. In the non-acupuncture group, the oral administration of imrecoxib tablets and cobalt tablets was prescribed for 2 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of Northwick Park questionnaire (NPQ) and the simplified McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ) were observed, and the safety was assessed in patients of the two groups.@*RESULTS@#After treatment completion, the scores of NPQ and SF-MPQ were all reduced when compared with those before treatment in each group (P<0.001), and the scores of NPQ and SF-MPQ in the acupuncture group were lower than those of the non-acupuncture group (P<0.001). The incidence of adverse reactions was 6.0% (13/218) in the acupuncture group and was 10.1% (22/218) in the non-acupuncture group, without statistical significance in comparison (P>0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture is effective and safe in the relief of neck pain and the improvement of comprehensive quality of life in the patients with cervical spondylosis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Neck Pain/therapy , Propensity Score , Quality of Life , Acupuncture Points , Acupuncture Therapy , Spondylosis/therapy , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The prevalence of malnutrition is very high in patients with cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a nutrition support team (NST) could benefit esophageal cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy (CRT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Between June 2012 and April 2014, 50 esophageal cancer patients undergoing concurrent CRT were randomly assigned into two groups: The NST group and the control group. The nutritional statuses of 25 patients in the NST group were managed by the NST. The other 25 patients in the control group underwent the supervision of radiotherapy practitioners. At the end of the CRT, nutritional status, the incidence of complications, and completion rate of radiotherapy were evaluated. Besides, the length of hospital stay (LOS) and the in-patient cost were also compared between these two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At the completion of CRF, the nutritional status in the NST group were much better than those in the control group, as evidenced by prealbumin (ALB), transferrin, and ALB parameters (P = 0.001, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). The complication incidences, including bone marrow suppression (20% vs. 48%, P = 0.037) and complications related infections (12% vs. 44%, P = 0.012), in the NST group were lower and significantly different from the control group. In addition, only one patient in the NST group did not complete the planned radiotherapy while 6 patients in the control group had interrupted or delayed radiotherapy (96% vs. 76%, P = 0.103). Furthermore, the average LOS was decreased by 4.5 days (P = 0.001) and in-patient cost was reduced to 1.26 ± 0.75 thousand US dollars person-times (P > 0.05) in the NST group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>A NST could provide positive effects in esophageal cancer patients during concurrent CRT on maintaining their nutrition status and improving the compliance of CRF. Moreover, the NST could be helpful on reducing LOS and in-patient costs.</p>