[Joint administration of acupuncture, western and herbal medicines and bamboo-jar-cupping for stroke patients of wind-phlegm obstructing collateral type in acute stage].

Objective: To observe the curative effect of joint administration of acupuncture, western and herbal medicines and bamboo-jar-cupping in the treatment of locomotor dysfunction in patients with apoplexy (acute phase) of wind-phlegm blocking meridian-collateral type in acute stroke patients, and its influence on some relevant laboratory indexes.

Methods: A total of 100 cases of acute stroke patients of wind-phlegm blocking meridian-collateral type were recruited, and equally and randomly divided into control group and treatment group according to the random number table. The patients of both groups received treatment of conventional western medicines (for anti-platelet aggregation, blood-lipid regulation, arterial plaque-stabilization, cerebral cell protection and blood pressure-lowering), Chinese herbal medicines (for promoting blood circulation to dredge the meridian-collaterals), and acupuncture of Neiguan (PC6), Chize (LU5), Zusanli (ST36), Binao (LI14) and Sanyinjiao (SP6); and in addition, the patients of the treatment group also treated by cupping with bamboo-jar (kept for 10 min). The treatment was conducted once a day for 2 weeks. After the treatment, the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), Barthel Index (BI), and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score were used to assess the state of neurofunction, locomotor function, daily living ability, and TCM symptoms. The contents of serum C-reactive protein, D-dimer and blood homocysteine were detected using radical immunodiffusion, immunoturbidimetry, and enzymic methods, respectively.

Results: After the treatment, of the 50 and 50 cases in the control and treatment groups, 5 and 6 were cured, 7 and 18 experienced marked improvement, 23 and 20 were effective, and 15 and 6 ineffective, with the effective rate being significantly higher in the treatment group (88.0%) than in the control group (70.0%, <0.05). Self-comparison showed that the FMA and BI scores were significantly increased (<0.01), and the NIHSS score and TCM syndrome score notably decreased in both groups ( <0.01) in comparison with their own pre-treatment. Comparison between the two groups showed that the FMA and BI scores were obviously higher in the treatment group than in the control group (<0.05), whereas the NIHSS score and TCM syndrome score as well as the C-reaction protein content evidently lower in the treatment group than in the control group (<0.05, <0.01).

Conclusion: Joint administration of acupuncture, western and Chinese herbal medicines and cupping can promote the recovery of nerve function, improve locomotor function, activities of daily living and quality of life, and reduce inflammatory state in acute stroke patients with wind-phlegm blocking collaterals.