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Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of Gao's nape acupuncture plus swallowing training in treating pharyngeal deglutition disorder after stroke.Methods:One hundred patients with post-stroke pharyngeal deglutition disorder were randomized into a treatment group and a control group,with 50 cases in each group.The two groups both received routine neurological intervention.In addition,the treatment group was given Gao's nape acupuncture plus swallowing training,while the control group was intervened by swallowing training alone.After eight-week treatment,the two groups were observed in terms of the changes in repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST),modified water swallowing test (MWST),standardized swallowing assessment (SSA) and swallowing-related quality of life (SWAL-QOL).The clinical efficacies of the two groups were also compared.Results:After treatment,the RSST grading,and scores of MWST,SSA and SWAL-QOL changed significantly in both groups (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The RSST grading,and scores of MWST,SSA and SWAL-QOL in the treatment group were significantly different from those in the control group after treatment (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The total effective rate and markedly effective rate were respectively 100.0％ and 72.3％ in the treatment group,versus 97.9％ and 34.0％ in the control group.There was a significant difference in the markedly effective rate between the two groups (P＜0.01).The difference in the clinical efficacy between the two groups was statistically significant (P＜0.01).Conclusion:Gao's nape acupuncture plus swallowing training is an effective approach for post-stroke pharyngeal deglutition disorder.Its therapeutic efficacy is more significant than that of swallowing training alone.
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OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects and safety of catgut embedding on alleviating insomnia.@*METHODS@#Totally 510 patients with insomnia were divided into 5 Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome types: Xin (Heart) and Pi (Spleen) deficiency, yin deficiency with excess fire, Xin and gut qi deficiency, Wei (Stomach) disorder, and qi and blood deficiency, respectively. These 5 types of patients were randomly assigned to a catgut embedding group, an acupuncture group or a medication group (30 cases in Xin and Pi deficiency type, Wei disorder type, Xin and gut qi deficiency type, respectively; 40 cases in yin deficiency with excess fire type and qi and blood deficiency type, respectively). In the catgut embedding group, patients were treated by implanting catgut into acupoints once every 10 days for a total of 30 days. In the acupuncture group, patients were treated with acupuncture once per day over 30 days (excluding weekends); and patients in the medication group took 1 mg Eurodin Tablet orally every night for 30 days. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was evaluated before treatment, on 30 and 60 days after the first treatment, respectively. The International Unified Sleep Efficiency Value (IUSEV) was measured at 30 and 60 days. The safety was evaluated after treatment and adverse events were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The objective PSQI scores including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and total scores at 30 days were significantly improved compared with pre-treatment in the catgut embedding and acupuncture groups (P<0.01 or P<0.05). At 30 days, the PSQI scores in catgut embedding group were superior to the medication group in the patients with each type of insomnia, with the exception of sleep duration (P<0.01 or P<0.05). At 60 days, significant differences were found between the catgut embedding group and the medication group (P<0.01 for all indices). The IUSEV scores in the catgut embedding group were significantly higher than the acupuncture group at 60 days, and the scores in acupuncture group were higher than the medication group at 30 days (P<0.05 for all types). No severe adverse events were found in this study.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Acupoint catgut embedding and acupuncture were more effective than medication in alleviating insomnia syndrome in different Chinese medicine syndrome type. However, the sustained effects of acupoint catgut embedding were superior to acupuncture.
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Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of nape acupuncture plus basic treatment and rehabilitation in treating pseudobulbar palsy after cerebral stroke and the relation between the efficacy and age of onset. Method A hundred patients were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 50 cases each. The control group was intervened by basic treatment and swallowing rehabilitation training, and the observation group was intervened by nape acupuncture in addition to the treatment given to the control group, once a day, five sessions a week, for 8 weeks in total. The Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test (RSST), Water Swallowing Test (WST) and Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) were observed in the two groups before and after the treatment; the relation between the age of onset and the efficacy of the integrated treatment method was also observed. Result The scores of RSST, SSA and WST were significantly improved after the treatment in both groups (P<0.01), and the improvements in the observation group were more significant than those in the control group (P<0.01). The therapeutic efficacy of nape acupuncture plus basic treatment and swallowing rehabilitation training was associated with the age of onset (P<0.05). Conclusion Nape acupuncture plus basic treatment and swallowing training can effectively improve dysphagia in pseudobulbar palsy after cerebral stroke. This method produces the most significant efficacy for patients aged 51-60, better than that for those aged over 60 and equivalent to the efficacy for patients aged 41-50.
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OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the early diagnosis of breast cancer with nonpalpable tumor.@*METHODS@#Forty-six cases of clinical nonpalpable tumor were examined by mammography and sonography.The cases of nipple discharge were also examined by fiberoptic ductoscopy.@*RESULTS@#Breast cancer in 46 cases was diagnosed by pathological examination. Of them, 34 diagnosed with breast cancer were found with nodus, calcification or confused structure, and so on, 5 were considered benign tumor, and 7 were not found lesion by mammography. Thirty-one cases were diagnosed with breast cancer, 6 with benign tumor, and 9 were not found occupying lesion by sonography. Occupying lesions were found in 6 cases of nipple discharge by fiberoptic ductoscopy and were finally diagnosed by biopsy.@*CONCLUSION@#Mammography and sonography are important methods in early discovering breast cancer. Early diagnosis rate of breast cancer can be elevated by signs of early breast cancer and combined examination of mammograply and sonography.