ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo compare the therapeutic efficacies of pricking Sifeng (EX-UE10), spine pinching, and the combination of pricking Sifeng and spine pinching in treating infantile dyspepsia.MethodBy simple randomization, ninety-six patients were divided into a pricking group (n=32), a spine pinching group (n=32), and a combination group (n=32). One-month treatment was considered as a course. Before treatment and after 1 treatment course, the 3 groups were evaluated by symptom scale and the criteria of symptom and therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine to determine the therapeutic efficacy. ResultThe total symptom score decreased significantly in the three groups after treatment (P0.05); while the improvements of appetite, vitality, sleep, hyperidrosis, infection, irregular defecation, abdominal bloating, and hairglossiness were statistically significant in the three groups (P<0.01). The recovery and markedly-effective rate was 51.6% in the pricking group, 48.4% in the spine pinching group, and 77.4% in the combination group; the therapeutic efficacy of the combination group was significantly higher than that of the other two groups (P<0.05).ConclusionThe three treatment protocols, i.e. pricking Sifeng, spine pinching, and the combination of the two methods, all can effectively improve the symptoms of infantiledyspepsia, while the therapeutic efficacy of the combination protocol is superior to the two methods usedseparately.