Therapeutic Observation of Fire Acupuncture plus Herbal Medicine for Acute Gouty Arthritis / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of fire acupuncture plus herbal medicine in treating acute gouty arthritis. Method Eighty-nine patients with acute gouty arthritis were randomized into a treatment group of 45 cases and a control group of 44 cases. The treatment group was intervened by fire acupuncture plus orally taking herbal medicine, while the control group was by oral administration of Diclofenac sodium and Allopurinol. The average pain score was observed before and after intervention, and the clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups.Result The total effective rate was 95.6% in the treatment group versus 81.8% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The average pain score was significantly changed in both groups after intervention (P<0.01). After treatment, there was a significant difference in comparing the average pain score between the two groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Fire acupuncture plus herbal medicine is an effective approach in treating acute gouty arthritis.