[Acupuncture of "Zhibian (BL 54) through Shuidao (ST 28)" for female stress urinary incontinence: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To observe effect of "Zhibian (BL 54) through Shuidao (ST 28)" acupuncture for quality of life of female patients with stress urinary incontinence.

Methods: A total of 90 female patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 45 cases in each group. The patients in the observation group were treated with "Zhibian (BL 54) through Shuidao (ST 28)" acupuncture method, and the patients in the control group were treated with non-permeable sham acupuncture at Zhibian (BL 54). The needles were retained for 30 min in both groups, once a day, and the treatment was totally given 10 times. The score of urinary incontinence quality of life questionnaire (I-QOL) was recorded before and after treatment and during the follow-up 1 month after treatment in the two groups, and the 1 h urine pad test and the 72 h urination diary card were used to evaluate the 1 h urine leakage and the 24 h urine leakage frequency of the two groups.

Results: After treatment and during follow-up, the I-QOL scores in the observation group were higher than those before treatment (<0.05), and were higher than those in the control group (<0.05). After treatment and during follow-up, the 1 h urine leakage and the 24 h urine leakage frequency in the observation group were lower than those before treatment (<0.05), and less than those in the control group (<0.05).

Conclusion: Acupuncture of "Zhibian (BL 54) through Shuidao (ST 28)" can improve the quality of life of female patients with stress urinary incontinence, and improve the volume and frequency of urine leakage.