Effectiveness of Theory-Based Health Information Technology Interventions on Coronary Artery Disease Self-Management Behavior: A Clinical Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE: Secondary prevention of coronary artery disease, self-management behavior, and blood pressure control are important to cardiovascular event prevention and promotion of quality of life (QOL), but they are underutilized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a self-efficacy theory-based health information technology intervention implemented through blood control and patient self-management. DESIGN: A clinical randomized waitlist-controlled trial. METHODS: The study was conducted at a medical center in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 60 subjects were randomly assigned to either the immediate intervention (experimental) group or the waitlist control group. The primary endpoint was systolic blood pressure at 3 months; secondary end points included self-management behavior and QOL. Treatment for the immediate intervention group lasted 3 months, while the waitlist control group received routine care for the first 3 months, at which point they crossed over to the intervention arm and received the same intervention as the experimental group for another 3 months. Both groups were evaluated by questionnaires and physiological measurements at both 3 and 6 months postadmission. The results were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure significantly improved for the intervention group participants at 3 months, when there was also significant improvement in self-management behavior and QOL. There was no significant or appreciable effect of time spent in the waitlist condition, with treatments in the two conditions being similarly effective. CONCLUSION: The use of a theory-based health information technology treatment compared with usual care resulted in a significant improvement in systolic blood pressure, self-management behavior, and QOL in patients with coronary artery disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This treatment would be a useful strategy for clinical care of cardiovascular disease patients, improving their disease self-management. It also may help guide further digital health care strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor YANG Yun-kuan's experience on treatment of dermopathy with cotton-sheet moxibustion / 中国针灸

Professor YANG Yun-kuan summarizes rich experiences on treatment of dermopathy with acupuncture and moxibustion in clinical and teaching practice of over 30 years. Here his unique therapy of cotton-sheet moxibustion is introduced. Different dermal diseases are treated with combination of cotton-sheet moxibustion with body acupuncture or skin needle, achieving good clinical effects. Cotton-sheet moxibustion has the characteristics of common materials and convenient manipulation. This is a safe, economic therapy with obvious therapeutic effect and it provides an effective way for treatment of dermopathy.

Effects of moxibustion on erectile function and NO-cGMP pathway in diabetic rats with erectile dysfunction / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect and the mechanism of moxibustion for treatment of diabetic erectile dysfunction (ED).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Diabetes mellitus (DM) rat model was induced by streptozotozin (STZ) and then penis erectile experiment of apomorphine (APO) was used to select diabetic ED rats model, which were divided into 2 groups: a model group and a moxibustion group, with another normal control group set up. The moxibustion group were treated with moxibustion at "Shenshu" (BL 23) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) with small moxa cone about the size of a wheat grain. The effects on penis erectile, blood sugar and total NOS, cNOS, iNOS, and cGMP were investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Moxibustion had a certain improving action on blood sugar, improved significantly erectile function, and more significantly increased NOS, cNOS, iNOS activities and cGMP contents in the penis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Moxibustion has a certain action on the erectile function in the diabetic ED rats, which is related with improvement of blood sugar and promoting NO-cGMP pathway.</p>