Clinical Observation of Acupuncture plus Long Dan Xie Gan Decoction in Treating Insomnia Due to Liver Depression Transforming into Fire / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture plus Long Dan Xie Gan decoction in treating insomnia due to liver depression transforming into fire. Method Ninety eligible patients with insomnia due to liver depression transforming into fire were randomized into an acupuncture group, a Chinese medication group and an acupuncture-medication group. The acupuncture group was given acupuncture treatment, the Chinese medication group was given Chinese medication Long Dan Xie Gan decoction for treatment, and the acupuncture-medication group was intervened by acupuncture plus Long Dan Xie Gan decoction, 2 weeks as a treatment course, for successive 3 courses. The clinical efficacies of the three groups and the changes in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score after the treatment were observed. Result The total effective rate was 96.7% in the acupuncture-medication group, significantly better than 80.0% in the acupuncture group and 83.3% in the Chinese medication group (P<0.05); there was no significant difference in comparing the total effective rate between the acupuncture group and Chinese medication group (P>0.05). The PSQI scores dropped significantly in the three groups after the treatment (P<0.05), and the decrease was most significant in the acupuncture-medication group; after the treatment, the PSQI score in the acupuncture-medication group was significantly different from that in both acupuncture and Chinese medication groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture plus Long Dan Xie Gan decoction can produce a more significant efficacy in treating insomnia due to liver depression transforming into fire compared to independent use of acupuncture and Long Dan Xie Gan decoction, and can better improve the quality of life of the patients.