[Bamboo-based medicinal moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of bamboo-based medicinal moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to preliminarily explore its action mechanism.

Methods: Sixty-four patients with CFS were randomly divided into a moxibustion group (32 cases, 1 case dropped off, 1 case excluded) and an acupuncture group (32 cases, 2 cases dropped off). The patients in the moxibustion group were treated with bamboo-based medicinal moxibustion, while the patients in the acupuncture group were treated with routine acupuncture. Both groups were treated once a day, 6 days as a course of treatment with 1 day interval, for a total of 2 courses of treatment. Before treatment, 1 and 2 courses into treatment and in the follow-up of 14 days after treatment, the fatigue scale-14 (FS-14) and somatic and psychological health report (SPHERE) scores were observed in the two groups. Before and after treatment, the contents of CD, CD, CD of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets were measured and CD/CD ratio was calculated; the clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared.

Results: Compared before treatment, the FS-14 and SPHERE scores in the two groups were decreased 1 and 2 courses into treatment and in the follow-up (<0.01), and the FS-14 and SPHERE scores in the moxibustion group were lower than those in the acupuncture group (<0.01, <0.05). Compared before treatment, the contents of CD, CD and CD/CD ratio in the moxibustion group were increased after treatment (<0.01). There was no significant difference of CD, CD, CD and CD/CD ratio between before and after treatment in the acupuncture group (>0.05). After treatment, the contents of CD and CD in the moxibustion group were higher than those in the acupuncture group (<0.05). The total effective rate was 93.3% (28/30) in the moxibustion group, which was higher than 73.3% (22/30) in the acupuncture group (<0.05).

Conclusion: Bamboo-based medicinal moxibustion could improve the physical and mental fatigue symptoms and psychological status in patients with CFS. Its effect may be related to regulating the contents of CD, CD of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and CD/CD ratio.