Clinical Medicine-separated Moxibustion Treatment Of Spleen Deficiency Type Ulcerative Colitis

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of using herbs-partition moxibustion on shenque, tianshu and guanyuan acupoints in treating ulcerative colitis patients with spleen and kidney yang deficiency syndrome, in hope to provide guidance for future clinical use.Methods:A randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted. Both western and TCM diagnostic criteria are based on the diagnostic criteria listed by the Gastrointestinal Section of the Chinese Society of Chinese Medicine in2010. Among the patients who visited Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Dong Fang Hospital’s colorectal department from October2013to March2014, a total of sixty patients corresponded to diagnostic criteria for ulcerative colitis with spleen and kidney yang deficiency sydnrome. Patients were randomly split into two groups-control group and treatment group. Patients in the control group were given1g of rectal suppository mesalazine to be inserted in the anus twice daily. Patients in the treatment group were given1g of rectal suppository mesalazine to be inserted in the anus twice daily, as well as herbs-partition moxibustion on shenque, tianshu and guanyuan acupoints on alternate days, using3moxa sticks for each moxibustion treatment. Treatment data and symptom score between the two groups were collected after4weeks, and results were analysed using SPSS17.0.Results:There was no statistical significance for patients’age, gender, course of disease as well as location of the condition in both groups before treatment (p>0.05). Symptom score for main sympoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal distention, mucus-like with blood defecation, tenesmus had no statistical significance between the two groups before treatment.Non-parametric analysis for overall symptoms score in both control and treatment groups show statistical significance of Z=-6.027, P<0.05and Z=-5.874, P=0.000, P<0.05respectively. Non-parametric analysis for post-treatment overall symptoms score between control and treatment group shows statistical significance of Z=-3.757, P=000, P<0.05. Total efficacy rate is86.67%for treatment group and63.33%for control group! with statistical significance of Z=-2.670, P=0.008, P<0.05, revealing that treatment group is more effective than control group. Comparing individual symptom score for main symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain distention and abdominal distention reveal statistical significance of P<0.05, as well as other symptoms such as coldness, weakness in knee and backache, and loss of appetite also statistical significance of P<0.05. Other main symptoms such as mucus-like blood defecation and tenesmus, as well as other symptoms such as lethargy do not reveal statisical significance (P>0.05). This may be due to a small sample size, or that patients have different body constitution resulting in a variation of treatment effect.Conclusion:Herb-partition moxibustion on shenque, tianshu and guanyuan acupoints, together with rectal suppository mesalazine, is a more effective treatment for moderate ulcerative colitis, indicating that herb-partition moxibustion has its own positive effect. It is also a simple and convenient procedure with no harmful side effects.