Clinical Observation of Acupuncture by Stages for Post-stroke Swallowing Dysfunction / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture by stages in treating post-stroke swallowing dysfunction. Method Sixty eligible patients were randomized into a staging-acupuncture group and an ordinary-acupuncture group, to respectively receive acupuncture by the stage of swallowing and ordinary acupuncture in addition to the basic treatments. Function estimation was conducted before and after intervention in both groups to compare the therapeutic efficacies.Result According to the water drinking test, the total effective rate was 83.3% in the staging-acupuncture group versus 53.3% in the ordinary-acupuncture group, and the difference was statistically significant by rank sum test (P＜0.05), and the staging-acupuncture group was superior to the ordinary-acupuncture group especially in the pharyngeal stage (P＜0.05); the differences were statistically insignificant in the oral stage and esophageal stage (P>0.05); regarding the video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS), the staging-acupuncture group was significantly better than ordinary-acupuncture group in improving swallowing function (P＜0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture by swallowing stages is effective in treating post-stroke swallowing dysfunction, especially in improving the swallowing function in pharyngeal stage.