Observations on the Efficacy of Warm Needling Moxibustion plus Medication for Rheumatoid Arthritis / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus medication for rheumatoid arthritis.Methods One hundred patients with rheumatoid arthritis were randomly allocated to two groups (treatment and control) by using random number table method, 50 cases each. The treatment group received warm needling moxibustion plus medication as combined therapy and the control group, oral administration of drugs alone. In both groups, treatment was given 10 times as a course, for a total of two courses. The DAS 28 score was recorded and rheumatoid factor (RF) was determined in the two groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.Results The total efficacy rate was 100％ in the treatment group and 86.0％ in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant post-treatment differences in DAS 28 score and RF between the two groups (P>0.05). There were statistically significant differences in pre-/post-treatment DAS 28 score difference value and RF difference value in the two groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Warm needling moxibustion plus medication is clinically more effective than oral administration of drugs alone in treating rheumatoid arthritis.