Randomized Controlled Trial Of Electroacupuncture In The Treatment Of Postherpetic Neuralgia

OBJECTIVE:This study fully draws lessons from the thinking mode of evidence-based medicine,and adopts a randomized controlled trial of electroacupuncture and sham electroacupuncture,in order to clarify the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture in the treatment of PHN and the net effect of electroacupuncture,and to improve the quality of clinical evidence of electroacupuncture in the treatment of PHN.METHODS:Through SPSS21.0 software,68 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into treatment group(n = 34)and control group(n =34).The treatment group selected the corresponding nerve segments of the lesion site and the upper and lower segments of Jiaji point after acupuncture with electroacupuncture,waveform dense waves,frequency of 2Hz/100 Hz,intensity to the patient’s tolerance,retaining the needle for 30 minutes.The control group selected Park comfort acupuncture to select the corresponding nerve segment of the lesion site and the Jiaji acupoints of its upper and lower segments,connected with the special power cord of the electroacupuncture instrument(the middle wire was cut off,the appearance was normal,the electroacupuncture instrument showed the connected state,actually no electricity was turned on),the waveform was set to sparse and dense wave,the frequency was 2Hz/100 Hz,and the needle was retained for 30 minutes.Both groups were treated once a day,5 times a week for 4 weeks.SF-MPQ score,HAMA score,HAMD score and PSQI score were used before treatment,4 weeks after treatment and 4 weeks after treatment(follow-up 1)and 8 weeks(follow-up 2).Serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-6(IL-6)were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)before and after treatment.RESULTS:1.Before treatment,the baseline data of sex,age,course of disease,SF-MPQ score,HAMA score,HAMD score,PSQI score,TNF-α and IL-6content were compared between the two groups(p>0.05).2.There were significant differences in SF-MPQ score,HAMA score,HAMD score and PSQI score between pre-treatment and post-treatment,pre-treatment and first follow-up,pre-treatment and second follow-up,post-treatment and second follow-up,and first and second follow-up in the treatment group(p<0.05).There was significant difference in HAMD score between the after treatment and the first follow-up(p<0.05).There was no significant difference between the other indexes after treatment and the first follow-up(p>0.05).3.In the control group,there were significant differences in SF-MPQ score,HAMA score,HAMD score and PSQI score before and after treatment,before treatment and the first follow-up,after treatment and the second follow-up,and between the first follow-up and the second follow-up(p<0.05).There was no significant difference between pre-treatment and second follow-up(p>0.05).4.There were significant differences in the contents of serum TNF-α and IL-6 between the treatment group and the control group before and after treatment.(p<0.05).5.There were significant differences in SF-MPQ score,HAMA score,HAMD score,PSQI score,TNF-α and IL-6 content between the two groups at the same time.(p<0.05).6.Compared with the comprehensive clinical efficacy of the two groups,the total effective rate of the treatment group and the control group was90.0% and 45.2% respectively.The total effective rate of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant.(p<0.001).CONCLUTION:1.The clinical effect of electroacupuncture in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia is better than that of sham electroacupuncture.2.Electroacupuncture in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia not only has a significant short-term effect,but also has a better long-term follow-up effect than sham electroacupuncture.3.Electroacupuncture can regulate the content of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum of patients with post-herpetic neuralgia,relieve inflammatory reaction and repair injured nerves.