Retrospective analysis on acupuncture in treatment of cerebral infarction evaluated with propensity score / 中国针灸

ABSTRACT

The actual efficacy of acupuncture on cerebral infarction was explored in clinical practice. The retro spective cohort study was adopted to investigate 344 cases via inpatient's medical cases. According to whether acupuncture was received or not, an acupuncture group (207 cases) and a non-acupuncture group (137 cases) were divided. The matching method, regression method and weighting method of propensity score (PS) were adopted, and the efficacy on muscle strength was taken as effect index so that the specific impacts of acupuncture were ex plored on the muscle strength in the patients of cerebral infarction. Before matching, COX regression model and Logistic regression model were used. And PS hierarchical regression, PS inverse probability weighting method (IPTW) and PS standardized mortality weighting method (SMRW) were applied to the analysis on the relationship between the muscle strengthen changes and the total effective rate in the two groups. It was found that the efficacy in the acupuncture group was better than that in the non-acupuncture group, indicating the significant difference (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the rehabilitation therapy also brought the obvious impacts on the efficacy evaluation (OR=2.737, P=0.0055). After PS matching, the Logistic regression model was used to analyze whether acupuncture or rehabilitation therapy impacted the total effective rate of muscle strength. The results showed that the efficacy was impacted apparently with the rehabilitation therapy involved (OR=2.930, P=0.0247). Without the rehabilitation effect considered, the efficacy in the acupuncture group was better potentially than that in the non-acupuncture group, but without significant difference (OR=2. 235, P=0,058 7). All of these indicate that on the basis of routine treatment, without the effect of rehabilitation therapy considered, acupuncture improves in tenden cy of the muscle strength of the patients with cerebral infarction. However, it is expected to increase the study medical cases for further verification.