Clinical Observation of Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation Training for Post-stroke Deglutition Disorder / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of needling a group of acupoints for choke plus rehabilitation training in treating post-stroke deglutition disorder.Method Ninety patients with post-stroke deglutition disorder were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 45 cases in each group. In addition to the conventional treatment, the control group also received swallowing rehabilitation training, and the treatment group received acupuncture ata group of acupoints for chokeas the major intervention(Aqiang point, Zhiqiang point, Tunyan point, Tiyan point and Fayin point, all extra) besides the intervention given to the control group, both for 3 successive treatment courses. Before and after theintervention, the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Videofluoroscopic Study (VFSS), post-stroke swallowing scale of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) (TCM scale for short), and the occurrence rate of relevant complications were comparedbetween the two groups.Result The total effective rate was 97.8% in the treatment group, significantly higher than 84.4% in the control group (P<0.05); the scores of NIHSS, VFSS and TCM scale in the treatment group were superior to those in the control group (P<0.05);the NIHSS, VFSS and TCM scale scores in the treatment group were superior to those in the control group after the intervention (P<0.05);24 cases in the control group presented complications versus 8 cases in the treatment group (P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture at the points group for chokepredominantlyplus rehabilitation training can effectively improve post-stroke deglutition disorder and reduce the occurrence of complications, with satisfactory safety and consistency.