ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effect of Zusanli and Guanyuan electroacupuncture ( EA) on inflammatory reaction in patients with sepsis. Methods A prospective and randomized trial was carried out in 58 sepsis patients, and the patients were randomly divided into EA group and control group. Patients in both groups were given conventional western medicine treatment, and EA group received EA at acupoints of Zusanli and Guanyuan additionally. The hospitalization time in intensive care unit ( ICU) of the two groups was compared. The changes of serum lactic acid (LA) level and inflammatory indexes including white blood cell and neutrophil count, C- reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and procalcitonin (PCT) of the two groups were observed before and after treatment. Results The hospitalization time in ICU of EA group was less than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05) . On the seventh day after treatment, the serum LA level of EA group was significantly lower than that of the control group ( P<0.05) . Inflammatory indexes of EA group were decreased after treatment compared with those before treatment ( P<0.05) , and on seventh day after treatment, the inflammatory indexes of EA group were significantly lower than those of the control group ( P<0.05) . Conclusion EA at acupoints of Zusanli and Guanyuan is effective for the treatment of sepsis through reducing the inflammatory reaction of sepsis patients.