[Tapping along meridians on back combined with acupuncture of "Qi Shen Zhen" (Seven acupoints for regulating mind) improves symptoms of post-stroke anxiety disorder patients].

Objective: To observe the effect of round magnetic needle tapping along meridians on the back plus acupuncture at "Qi Shen Zhen"（including Shenting ［GV24］, Benshen ［GB13］, Sishenchong ［EX-HN1］）, and Baihui （GV20）, Shenmen （HT7） on gastrointestinal function, daily living activities and anxiety status in post-stroke anxiety disorder (PSAD) patients.

Methods: Fifty-seven PSAD patients were randomly divided into acupuncture group (28 cases) and medication group (29 cases). On the basis of routine treatment and physical therapy, patients of the acupuncture group were treated by applying round magnetic needle to mildly tapping the second line→the first line of the Bladder Meridian→Jiaji acupoints→Governor Meridian on the back from outside to the inside in sequence for 20 min, followed by needling GV24, GV20, GB13, EX-HN1 and HT7, respectively, with the needles retained for 30 min after one minute's twisting. The treatment was conducted once daily, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks. Patients of the medication group were asked to take Escitalopram Oxalate tablets (5-20 mg/d) for 6 weeks. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) was used to assess the patient's severity of anxiety, cognition, somatic sensation, symptoms of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, automatic and muscular systems, the Barthel Index (BI) used to evaluated the activities of daily living (ADL), and the gastrointestinal function （Spleen-stomach Symptom Score ［SSS］） assessed according to the "Standards for Diagnosis and Curative Effect Evaluation of Syndromes of Traditional Chinese Medicine". The adverse reactions were observed at the end of treatment.

Results: After the treatment, the HAMA scores at the 2nd, 4th and 6th week and the SSS scores at the 4th and 6th week were significantly decreased (<0.05), and the BI scores at the 2nd， 4th and 6th week were considerably increased in both acupuncture and medication groups compared with their own pre-treatment (<0.05). The HAMA score at the 2nd week, and the SSS scores at the 2nd, 4th and 6th week were obviously lower(<0.05), and the BI score at the 6th week was notably higher in the acupuncture group than in the medication group (<0.05). No significant diffe-rence was found between the two groups in the therapeutic effect of anxiety state (>0.05). The acupuncture group had fewer adverse reactions than the medication group (<0.05).

Conclusion: The round magnetic needle tapping plus "Qi Shen Zhen" needling has a significant therapeutic effect in improving PSAD patients' anxiety state, being similar to Escitalopram Oxalate tablets in reducing anxiety state and being superior to Escitalopram in improving gastrointestinal function and daily living activities.