| Objective:The aim of this study was to review and analyse the effectiveness of integrated therapy of traditional pediatric massage and moxibustion on the'Shenque' acupuncture point, in treatment of pediatric allergic rhinitis, so as to provide an efficient treatment plan for children with allergic rhinitis.Methods:With the consent from the patients and their parents, a total of 90 pediatric cases who visited and received treatments between March to Decenber 2010 at the Jia Guang Otolaryngological Specialist Clinic were recruited for study. Selection of patients were based on the diagnostic criteria for Atopic Rhinitis set by "Chinese Medical Association of Otolaryngology" in Haikou,1997 as well as "Standards of Professional Practice" and "Standards of Medical Diagnosis and Therapy of Diseases" set by the Traditional Chinese Medical Association, People's Republic of China, in 1995. Patients were divided into 3 groups, namely, Treatment Group, Control Groupâ… and Control Groupâ…¡, based on random selection; with thirty patients in each group. The final patient count was 85, with 28 patients remaining in the treatment group,27 patients in control groupâ… and 30 patients in control group II; with a total dropout count of 5.Patients in the Treatment Group were treated with traditional pediatric massage and moxibustion on the Shenque acupuncture point. Pediatric massage was conducted on alternate days while moxibustion was given on a daily basis for a total of four weeks with 6 days to a treatment course. Patients in the Control Groupâ… received traditional pediatric massage on alternate days for a total of four weeks, with 6 days to a treatment course. Patients in Control Groupâ…¡were given one tablet of oral Levo-Cetirizine pills, qhs for a total of four weeks with 7 days to a treatment course.Observation parameters:grading was done in accordance to symptoms,body types,reactions to treatment total serum IgE count and laboratory safety and consistency measurements.Results:(1) There was no significant difference in the effect of treatment among Treatment Group, Control Groupâ… andâ…¡immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. However, three months after completion of treatment program, the effect of treatment in Treatment Group was superior to that in Control Groupâ… andâ…¡.(2) Marked improvement in patients with symptom of sneezing was noted in all 3 groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Results in the Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… but showed no significant difference from the results in Control Groupâ…¡. Three months after completion of treatment program, significant improvement persisted in Experimental Group and Control Groupâ… but no significant improvement in symptom of sneezing was noted in Control Groupâ…¡as compared to condition prior to treatment. Therefore, the results of treatment in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… were superior to that in Control Groupâ…¡and the results in Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… .(3) Marked improvement in the symptom of running nose was noted in all three groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, significant improvement persisted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… but no significant improvement in symptom of sneezing was noted in Control Groupâ…¡as compared to condition prior to treatment. Therefore, the results of treatment in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… were superior to that in Control Groupâ…¡and the results in Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… .(4) Marked improvement in the symptom of nasal obstruction was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… while no significant difference in symptom was noted in Groupâ…¡immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, significant improvement was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… but no significant improvement in symptom was noted in Control Groupâ…¡, while results in Experimental Group were superior to Control Groupâ… .(5) Marked improvement in the symptom of nasal pruritis was noted in all three groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, results in the Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… were superior to that in Control groupâ…¡. Marked improvement in symptom was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… but no significant improvement was noted in Control Groupâ…¡.(6) Statistically, all three groups showed improvement in symptoms immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, improvement in symptoms was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… when compared to that before treatment; results in both Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… were superior to that in Control Groupâ…¡; results in Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… .(7) Improvement in body shape was noted in all three groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, results in Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… ,â…¡:results in Control Groupâ… were superior to Control Groupâ…¡and improvement was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… when compared to the conditions prior to treatment.(8) Marked improvements were noted in all three groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment. Three months after completion of treatment program, results in Treatment Group were superior to that in Control Groupâ… andâ…¡; results in Control Groupâ… were superior to Control Groupâ…¡and improvement was noted in Treatment Group and Control Groupâ… as compared conditions prior to treatment.(9) Stabilization of serum IgE levels was noted in all three groups immediately after 4 weeks of treatment; results in Treatment Group were superior to Control Groupâ… andâ…¡while no significant difference was noted in the results in Control Groupâ… andâ…¡.Conclusion:(1) The therapeutic effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine are achieved by emphasizing differential diagnosis, tonifying systemic deficiency, regulation of Qi, strengthening of physical constitution while at the same time achieving an improvement in symptoms. (2) Non-pharmaceutical Traditional Chinese Medical treatments such as Acupuncture and Moxibustion produce good short and long term effect on allergic rhinitis in children and the effects are long lasting. Therefore, it is to be speculated that the mechanism of therapy of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in treatment of allergic rhinitis in children is different from that found in Western Medicine. (3) There may be different mechanisms in which the traditional methods of acupuncture, moxibustion and massage influence the immune system in a pediatric patient and further studies are required. It can be concluded that the curative effects of the traditional methods are closely related to their influences over the immune system in the pediatric patient.
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