ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of eye acupuncture plus linguistic competence training in treating post-stroke aphasia.Methods Sixty patients with post-stroke aphasia were randomly allocated to groups A, B and C, 20 cases each. Group A received eye acupuncture plus linguistic competence training; group B, eye acupuncture alone; group C, linguistic competence training alone. The linguistic competence scores, the aphasia quotient (AQ) score and the Chinese Functional Communication Profile (CFCP) score were recorded in the three groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the three groups.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the linguistic competence scores, the AQ score and the CFCP score in the three groups (P<0.01,P<0.05). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the linguistic competence (spontaneous speech, spoken language understanding and naming) scores, the AQ score and the CFCP score between groups A and C (P<0.05). The total efficacy rate was 95.0% in group A, 80.0% in group B and 85.0% in group C. There was a statistically significant difference in the total efficacy rate between group A and group B or C (P<0.05).Conclusion EYE acupuncture plus linguistic competence training is an effective way to treat post-stroke aphasia.