ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of children with acute brain injury.Methods A prospective study was conducted. Sixty-one children with brain injury admitted to Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2014 to April 2016were enrolled, and they were randomly divided into acupuncture group (31 cases), and conventional treatment control group (30 cases). All cases with operation indications received craniotomy and tracheal intubation, and after operation symptomatic treatment, ventilator assistance, etc. were given to the patients; in acupuncture group,acupuncture was applied after vital signs were stable, the main acupoints being neiguan, renzhong, sanyinjiao, siguan, yongquan, baihui, shixuan, etc. once needle retention time at points 30 minutes, 5 times a week, 10 times for a therapeutic course, the therapeutic course being 2 weeks. The therapeutic effects were evaluated according to the modified Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and the CT image scoring method. Results After treatment, the coma (GCS) and brain injury (CT score) situations in the acupuncture group were more significantly improved than those in control group (P 0.05). The time of treatment in acupuncture group were significantly shorten compared with that of the control group (weeks: 2.7±0.7 vs. 3.7±0.4,P < 0.01). The total effective rate of acupuncture group was significantly higher than that of control group [90.3% (28/31) vs. 70.0% (21/30),P < 0.05].Conclusion Acupuncture has a significant effect for treatment of children with acute brain injury.