ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical effectiveness of applying comprehensive medical model in treating stroke in Chinese medicine (CM) hospitals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 236 stroke inpatients were randomly assigned to the comprehensive treatment group (as the experimental group, 121 cases) and the conventional treatment group (as the control group, 115 cases). A standard comprehensive treatment mode was applied in the experimental group. The Chinese materia medica (CMM) or acupuncture was combined during the rehabilitation treatment. Traditional basic drug treatment method was applied in the conventional treatment group. The health education for patients and their families was launched non-systematically. The mortality, the occurrence rate of complications, short-term clinical effectiveness, as well as NIHSS, Barthel index (BI), and Oxford Handicap Scale (OHS) were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before treatment there was no statistical difference in NIHSS score, BI, or OHS score between the two groups (P > 0.05). On day 21 and 90 of the treatment, there was statistical difference in NIHSS score, BI, and OHS score (P < 0.01). Better results were obtained in the experimental group. On day 21 and 90 of the treatment, the total effectiveness rate was 80.99% and 88.43% in the experimental group, higher than that of the control group (61.74% and 72.17% respectively), showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The occurrence rate of common complications in the experimental group was obviously lower than that in the control group (30.58% vs 69.56%, P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in the mortality between the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The application of the comprehensive medical model in treating stroke in CM showed better effects than using traditional basic drug treatment method. Treatment of stroke by CM showed superiorities.</p>