ABSTRACT
Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of neck pricking combined with oral pricking in the treatment of dysphagia after stroke.Methods:Seventy-four patients with post-stroke dysphagia who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into the treatment group (acupuncture + rehabilitation training group) and the control group (rehabilitation training group) according to random number table method, 37 cases for each group. Both groups of patients were given conventional drug therapy and rehabilitation of Chinese and Western medicine. On this basis, the control group used swallowing rehabilitation training. The treatment group used acupuncture combined with neck pricking and oral pricking based on swallowing rehabilitation training. Both groups were treated for 3 weeks. Before and after the treatment, three different traits of sputum (liquid, mushy and paste) videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) were observed for each patient, and the swallowing conditions were observed. The primary outcome measures were the oral swallowing scale score, the pharyngeal swallowing scale score, the Rosenbek infiltration/aspiration scale score, and the standard swallowing function rating scale (SSA). The improvement in swallowing function and aspiration was compared between the two groups.Results:After treatment, the SSA score of the treatment group (25.05 ± 5.27 vs. 28.66 ± 5.33, t=2.884) was lower than that of the control group ( P<0.05). Compared with the same group before treatment, treatment group and control group of oral stage VFSS liquid ( t=5.199, 5.413), mushy ( t=4.761, 4.824) and pasty ( t=5.295, 4.428) scores, throat stage liquid ( t=4.986, 3.919), mushy ( t=4.789, 4.170) and pasty ( t=4.136, 3.673) scores were increased ( P<0.01), but there was no statistically significant difference between the groups ( P>0.05). After treatment, Rosenbek's leakage-aspiration degree classification was significantly reduced ( Z values were 4.224, 2.956, all Ps<0.01), but there was no statistically significant difference between the groups ( P>0.05). The total effective rate was 89.2% (33/37) in the treatment group and 74.3% (26/35) in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups ( Z=1.125, P=0.261). Conclusions:Neck pricking combined with oral pricking and rehabilitation training for stroke dysphagia is better than simple rehabilitation training, and could significantly improve swallowing-feeding function, which could be promoted in clinical rehabilitation.