[Immediate analgesic effect of electroacupuncture combined with diclofenac sodium on acute gouty arthritis: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To observe the immediate analgesic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with diclofenac sodium on acute gouty arthritis (AGA).

Methods: A total of 90 patients with AGA were randomly divided into a low-dose medication (LM) group (30 cases, 1 case was eliminated, 1 case dropped off), a conventional medication (CM) group (30 cases, 1 case dropped off) and a combination of acupuncture and medication (AM) group (30 cases ). The LM group was given oral administration of 50 mg diclofenac sodium sustained-release capsule; the CM group was given oral administration of 100 mg diclofenac sodium sustained-release capsule; on the basis of the treatment of LM group, the AM group was treated with electroacupuncture at points, Dadu (SP 2), Taichong (LR 3), Taibai (SP 3), Neiting (ST 44), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Zusanli (ST 36) and Yinlingquan (SP 9) on the affected side, and Taichong (LR 3) and Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Yinlingquan (SP 9) were connected to electroacupuncture respectively, continuous wave, 2 Hz in frequency. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain before treatment and after 10 min, 2 h, 4 h and 6 h of treatment completion, joint tenderness and swelling scores before treatment and after 10 min and 6 h of treatment completion were compared, and the rate of diclofenac sodium addition within 24 h after treatment completion was recorded among the three groups.

Results: After 10 min of treatment completion, the scores of VAS, joint tenderness and joint swelling in the AM group were lower than those before treatment (<0.05), and the VAS score in the AM group was lower than that in the other two groups (<0.05). After 2, 4 and 6 h of treatment completion, the VAS scores of the three groups were lower than those before treatment (<0.05), and the scores in the AM group were lower than those in the LM group (<0.05). After 6 h of treatment completion, the joint tenderness scores of the three groups and the joint swelling scores of the AM group and the CM group were lower than those before treatment (<0.05), and the joint tenderness and swelling scores of the AM group were lower than those of the LM group (<0.05). The rate of diclofenac sodium addition was 3.3 % (1/30) and 3.4 % (1/29) in the AM group and the CM group, respectively, which were lower than 17.9% (5/28) in the LM group (<0.05).

Conclusion: Electroacupuncture combined with diclofenac sodium have a good immediate analgesic effect in the treatment of AGA, and have the advantages of small dosage of analgesic drugs and less adverse reactions.