Effect of moxibustion on ureteral stent-related symptoms after ureteroscopic lithotripsy / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVES@#To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion combined with western medication on ureteral stent-related symptoms after ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URL).@*METHODS@#One hundred and fifty patients with upper urinary tract calculus implanted with ureteral stents after URL were randomly divided into a moxibustion group (50 cases, 1 case dropped out), a placebo moxibustion group (50 cases, 3 cases dropped out) and a blank control group (50 cases). No intervention was performed in the blank control group. On the basis of oral administration with tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained release capsule (starting from the first day after surgery, once a day, 0.2 mg each time, continuously for 4 weeks), in the moxibustion group, moxibustion was operated at Guanyuan (CV 4) and bilateral Shenshu (BL 23); the sham-moxibustion was delivered at the same acupoints in the placebo moxibustion group, once daily, 6 times a week, for 15 min in each treatment. The duration of treatment was 4 weeks. Before treatment, and after 1, 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, the scores of lower urinary tract symptoms, body pain, general health, work performance and satisfaction of sexual matters were compared among the 3 groups. The tract calculus clearance rate, urinary infection and the oral administration of painkillers were compared after 4 weeks of treatment in the 3 groups.@*RESULTS@#The scores of lower urinary tract symptoms, body pain and general health after 1 week of treatment, and the scores of lower urinary tract symptoms, body pain, general health and work performance after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment were lower than those before treatment in the 3 groups (P<0.01). The scores of lower urinary tract symptoms and body pain in the moxibustion group after 1, 2 and 4 weeks of treatment were lower than those in the blank control group and the placebo moxibustion group (P<0.01, P<0.05) respectively. The score of general health in the moxibustion group was lower than that in the blank control group after 1 week of treatment (P<0.01), and lower than those of the blank control group and the placebo moxibustion group after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). Regarding the score of work performance, it was lower in the moxibustion group after 1 and 2 weeks of treatment compared with those in the blank control group (P<0.05, P<0.01), and lower than those of the blank control group and the placebo moxibustion group after 4 weeks of treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). The tract calculus clearance rate in the moxibustion group was 95.9% (47/49), higher than that in the blank control group (80.0%, 40/50, P<0.05). The proportion of oral administration of painkillers in the moxibustion group (28.6%, 14/49) and the placebo moxibustion group (40.4%, 19/47) was lower than that in the blank control group (76.0%, 38/50, P<0.01) respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Moxibustion combined with western medication relieves lower urinary tract symptoms and body pain, and accelerate the recovery of general health and work performance in the patients after URL.

Governor vessel moxibustion combined with western medication for mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the therapeutic efficacy of governor vessel moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule, simple fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule and placebo moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule for mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency.@*METHODS@#A total of 126 patients with mild to moderate depression with kidney-yang deficiency were randomized into a governor vessel moxibustion group (42 cases, 2 cases dropped off), a western medication group (42 cases, 1 case dropped off) and a placebo moxibustion group (42 cases, 1 case dropped off). The western medication group was given fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule orally, 20 mg a time, once a day. On the basis of the treatment in the western medication group, governor vessel moxibustion was applied from Dazhui (GV 14) to Yaoshu (GV 2) in the governor vessel moxibustion group, once a week; placebo moxibustion was applied in the placebo moxibustion group, once a week. Treatment of 8 weeks was required in the 3 groups. Before and after treatment, the scores of Hamilton depression scale-17 (HAMD-17), Asberg's rating scale for side effects (SERS) and TCM clinical symptom were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the scores of HAMD-17, SERS and TCM clinical symptom were decreased compared before treatment in the 3 groups (P<0.05), the decrease ranges of above scores in the governor vessel moxibustion group were larger than those in the western medication group and the placebo moxibustion group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 92.5% (37/40) in the governor vessel moxibustion group, which was higher than 75.6% (31/41) in the western medication group and 80.5% (33/41) in the placebo moxibustion group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Governor vessel moxibustion combined with fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule can improve the degree of depression and relieve the clinical symptoms in mild to moderate depression patients with kidney-yang deficiency, the efficacy is superior to simple fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule, and can reduce the fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule-induced adverse effect to a certain extent.

A preliminary discussion of the necessity of controlled setting of placebo moxibustion / 针刺研究

Compared with acupuncture research, moxibustion research has made slow progress with great obstacles. With randomized controlled trials as the widely accepted gold standard for the evaluation of clinical effect, moxibustion therapy is facing a great challenge: how to establish a reasonable placebo control group. This article reviewed the current application of placebo moxibustion, analyzed the difficulties in setting up placebo moxibustion, and explored corresponding solutions, in order to attract more attention to moxibustion therapy among traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.

Application Status and Progress of Mimicking Moxibustion in Clinical Trials of Moxibustion / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

In recent years, with the widespread clinical application of moxibustion, the clinical trials on moxibustion research are also increasing. However, the establishment of negative control of moxibustion, also called as mimicking moxibustion, has become a major challenge in the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) . In this review, we summarized the establishment methods of mimicking moxibustion in RCTs at home and abroad, and evaluated and elaborated the design and application methods of mimicking moxibustion models from thermal effect, light radiation effect and smoke effect that generated by moxibustion, in order to provide insights for the establishment of an ideal and feasible mimicking moxibustion model in future RCTs of moxibustion.