RESUMO
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Jin’s three-needle acupuncture plus intelligence training in treating mental retardation in children under 6 years old. Methods Three hundred mental retardation patients aged 0 to 6 were randomly allocated, according to their parents’ willingness, to treatment and control groups, 150 cases each. The treatment group received Jin’s three-needle acupuncture plus intelligence training and the control group, intelligence training alone. An assessment was made using Chinese revised version of the Gesell Developmental Schedules in both groups before and after treatment.Results The total efficacy rate was 84.7% in the treatment group and 73.3% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The total efficacy rates in liver-kidney deficiency, heart-spleen deficiency, phlegm and blood stasis, and qi deficiency and blood stasis types were 86.8%, 86.8%, 76.5% and 75.0%, respectively, in the treatment group and 76.2%, 76.8%, 62.5% and 60.0%, respectively, in the control group. There were statistically significant differences in the total efficacy rates in different syndrome types between the two groups (P<0.05). The total efficacy rates in the patients with mild, moderate, severe and very severe diseases were 96.9%, 94.7%, 66.7% and 44.4%, respectively, in the treatment group and 90.0%, 82.5%, 47.8% and 35.3%, respectively, in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference in the total efficacy rate between the two groups of patients with moderate, severe or very severe disease (P<0.05).Conclusion Jin’s three-needle acupuncture plus intelligence training is an effective way to treat mental retardation in children.