ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the early rehabilitation effect of acupuncture on brain arousal in severe craniocerebral injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and two cases of severe craniocerebral injury were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 51 cases in each one. Based on the conventional nursing care in neurological external medicine, in observation group, acupuncture was applied at Shuigou (GV 26), Neiguan (PC 6) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) mainly. In control group, functional electric stimulation was applied at stimulate the affected muscles of the upper limbs. Thirty days later, the lucid rate from coma, lucid interval and clinical efficacy were compared between two groups. RESULTS; The lucid rate from coma was 82.4% (42/51) in observation group, which was higher than 56.9% (29/51) in control group (P < 0.01). The lucid interval in observation group was shortened remarkably as compared with control group (P < 0.01), and the clinical efficacy was superior apparently to that in control group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>On the basis of conventional treatment, acupuncture intervention at early stage can accelerate the recovery of brain arousal function in patients with severe craniocerebral injury.</p>