Acupuncture treatment of lung-spleen Qi deficiency in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized, open-label, controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture that reinforces the spleen to strengthen the lung in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: This was a randomized, open-controlled trial in which the acupuncturist and the participants were not blinded, but the outcome evaluators and data analysts were blinded. One-hundred-and-two patients with stable COPD were randomly divided into two groups in a 1∶1 ratio. The acupuncture group received 30-minute sessions of acupuncture therapy at the same acupoints three times weekly for 6 weeks in addition to routine conventional Western Medicine treatment; the control group received routine conventional Western Medicine treatment alone. The primary outcome was the Borg scale score, which was assessed immediately after the 6-minute walk test. The secondary outcomes were the 6-minute walk distance, lung function, and oxygen saturation. Measurements were obtained at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of treatment, the Borg scale score in the acupuncture group was significantly better than that in the control group (2.02 ± 0.71 versus 5.01 ± 0.34, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the post-treatment improvements in the 6-minute walk distance, lung function, and oxygen saturation were significantly greater in the acupuncture group than in the control group, showing that the acupuncture group had better exercise tolerance. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that acupuncture that aims to reinforce the spleen to strengthen the lung is a safe and effective adjuvant therapy that effectively improves the exercise capacity of patients with stable COPD.