[Effect of bloodletting at tip of ear with different amounts on pain in patients with early-stage stye: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To compare the curative effect between bloodletting at tip of ear with different amounts combined with western medication and western medication alone for early-stage stye.

Methods: A total of 108 patients with early-stage stye were randomly divided into a 50 μL group (36 cases, 4 cases dropped off), a 100 μL group (36 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a western medication group (36 cases, 5 cases dropped off). The patients in the western medication group were treated with levofloxacin eye drops and levofloxacin hydrochloride eye gel. Based on the treatment of the western medication group, the patients in the 50 μL group were treated with 50 μL bloodletting (about 3 drops) at tip of ear while the patients in the 100 μL group were treated with 100 μL bloodletting (about 6 drops) at tip of ear; the bloodletting was given once a day for 3 days. After treatment, the changes of visual analogue scale (VAS) and clinical effect were observed, and the patients were followed up by telephone on the 8th day.

Results: After treatment, the VAS score in each group was reduced (<0.01), and the score in the 50 μL group and 100 μL group was lower than that in the western medication group (<0.05, <0.01), and the score in the 100 μL group was lower than that in the 50 μL group (<0.05). After treatment, the cured rate was 76.5% (26/34) in the 100 μL group, 71.9% (23/32) in the 50 μL group and 51.6% (16/31) in the western medication group, and there were no significant differences among three groups (>0.05). One week after the onset of the disease, all the patients in the 50 μL group and 100 μL group were cured, and one patient in the western medication group was not cured, and treated with routine surgery.

Conclusion: Based on the conventional western medication treatment, bloodletting at tip of ear can significantly reduce the pain of stye, and the effect of 100 μL bleeding is better than 50 μL.