Acupuncture anesthesia (AA) is an important practical application of the enhanced recovery after surgery concept, and it has demonstrated considerable potential in perioperative management by reducing anesthetic dosage, enhancing organ protection, and lowering complications. However, the field still faces challenges such as a lack of high-quality evidence-based medical data, the absence of standardized guidelines, and unclear acupuncture mechanisms, which hinder further advancements in clinical efficacy prediction and personalized application. To systematically integrate heterogeneous multi-source knowledge in AA, this study proposed the first publicly available Acupuncture Anesthesia Knowledge Database (AAKD). AAKD adheres to a comprehensive development process, including public data collection, extraction, curation and evaluation, standardization, a multi-dimensional quality control system construction, data analysis, and integration. AAKD includes 17,921 clinical data, 29,462 mechanism research data, 143 omics datasets, and 2034 articles. It covers 12 species, 1068 genes, 111 surgeries, 227 diseases/symptoms, and 260 acupoints. Taking IL1B gene as an example, it demonstrates a potential way for AAKD in integrating multi-level data, offering knowledge support for users exploring basic research or clinical decision-making. It also reveals cross-module association in facilitating the discovery of new scientific questions. AAKD is a visual, systematic, and standardized platform, which has the potential to support the evidence-based practice and mechanism research in AA, and lay the foundation for future artificial intelligence-driven analgesic strategies. AAKD is available at http://www.biomedinfo.cn/AAKD/index_en.php or http://www.bmtongji.cn/AAKD/index_en.php.

Objective:A preliminary trial is conducted to explore whether perioperative(preoperative,intraoperative,and postoperative)electroacupuncture is more effective than postoperative electroacupuncture in improving gastrointestinal function for colorectal cancer patients. Methods and analysis:The study proposes a randomized,parallel-controlled,single-center trial involving 30 colorectal cancer patients aged 18-79 requiring elective surgery.Participants are randomly assigned to two groups,with equal allocation,where one group receives perioperative electroacupuncture,and the other group receives postoperative electroacupuncture.The treatment duration spans from preoperative to postoperative 72 h,with a subsequent 28-day follow-up period.The primary outcome is the time of first postoperative defecation.The secondary outcomes include the recovery time of postoperative bowel sounds,time of the first flatus,dietary recovery,postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction frequency,quality of life scale,postoperative pain degree,time of the first ambulation,length of hospital stay,gastrointestinal hormone indicators,and adverse events.The coagulation function test,liver and renal function,and stool and blood routine serve as security biomarkers.The statistical analysis includes the t-test,rank-sum test,Chi-square test,and analysis of variance.A two-sided significance level is set at 5%. Discussion:This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of perioperative electroacupuncture for gastrointestinal function recovery following colorectal cancer surgery.The study's strengths include its randomized design,well-defined intervention periods,and multi-dimensional outcome assessment.Nevertheless,limitations,such as the small sample size and single-center setting,may affect external validity.The findings will guide protocol refinement and sample size estimation for future large-scale multi-center randomized controlled trials.

Background: Kinematic analysis has been recommended to quantify the upper limb motor function after stroke. However, previous studies have rarely reported the kinematic data of the post-stroke patients with moderate to severe upper limb paresis due to the poor accomplishment of the complex tasks. Methods: 27 post-stroke individuals and 20 non-disabled people participated in the study. The trunk and upper limb movements during the Hand-to-mouth task were captured by the motion capture system and upper extremity kinematic analysis software automatically. The subgroup analysis within stroke group were conducted layering by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity scores (severe: 16-31; moderate: 32-50). Findings: The paretic upper limbs in the stroke group tended to use more trunk and shoulder compensatory strategies to offset the impact of spasticity and weakness compared with non-disabled controls. The less-affected limbs in the stroke group also showed abnormal kinematic data. There were significant differences between the kinematic metrics of severe and moderate subgroups. Interpretation: The Hand-to-mouth task is a good and feasible option for kinematic analysis of these patients. It is essential to layer the severity of the paresis and put more emphasis on trunk movements in the future kinematic studies.

In this paper we introduce a class of one dimensional non-centered minimal operator m_Φ associated to a function Φ , which covers the usual minimal operator. We establish the boundedness of m_Φ :BV(ℝ)→BV(ℝ) under a more restrictive condition on Φ . Here BV(ℝ) is the set of functions of bounded variation defined on ℝ . In the discrete setting, we prove the discrete minimal operator is bounded and continuous from BV(ℤ) to itself under a more restrictive condition on Φ .

Objective:Moderate-to-severe pain is the most common clinical symptom in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).This trial aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy of Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in patients of HCC with severe pain and provide a reliable reference for optimizing the clinical diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of HCC.Methods:A total of 104 eligible patients were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups in a ratio of 1:1.The treatment was administered for 1 week continuously. Patients in both groups were followed up 1 week after the end of the treatment.The primary outcome measure was the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) score, whereas the secondary outcome measures included Brief Pain Inventory BPI-Q3, Q4, Q5 scores, analgesic dose, frequency of opioid-induced gastrointestinal side effects, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), Quality of Life Scale - Liver Cancer (QOL-LC), and Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) scores.Results:The NRS scores of experimental group was significantly lower after treatment and at the follow-up than baseline (average P<0.01), there were also statistical differences between the groups at the above time points (average P<0.01). BPI-Q3, -Q4, and -Q5 scores in the experimental group were decreased after treatment when compared with those before treatment (average P<0.01). Furthermore, there were significant improvements of gastrointestinal side effects, KPS, QOL-LC and BPI in the experimental group after treatment, and the above results were statistically significant compared to the control group.Conclusion:7-day TEAS treatment can significantly enhance the analgesic effect and maintain for the following week, also reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects caused by opioids, and improve the quality of life of patients with moderate-to-severe HCC-related pain, which has reliable safety and certain clinical promotion value.

Objective To explore the effects of the combination of he-sea and front-mu points on the feeding compliance rate,the intra-abdominal pressure,the enteral nutrition tolerance score,the score of acute physiological and chronic health evaluation(APACHE)-Ⅱ and gastrointestinal function impairment grade in the patients with enteral nutrition feeding intolerance(ENFI)of critical illness and evaluate clinical effect on ENFI after acupuncture at the he-sea and front-mu points.Methods Seventy patients of ENFI were randomized into a control group and an observation group,35 cases in each one.In the control group,the patients were treated with routine regimen combined with intesti-nal nutrition support.In the observation group,on the basis of the treatment as the control group,acupuncture was ap-plied to Shangwan(CV13),Zhongwan(CV12),Xiawan(CV10),Qihai(CV6)and Guanyuan(CV4),as well as bila-teral Neiguan(PC6),Zusanli(ST36),Xiajuxu(ST39),Shangjuxu(ST37),Tianshu(ST25)and Daheng(SP15).Of those acupoints,ST25 and SP15 on the same side were attached to one pair of electrodes(20 Hz/100 Hz).Acupunc-ture was delivered once daily,30 min each time and for consecutive 7 days.During treatment,the numbers of the cases up to the feeding standard were observed everyday to calculate the feeding compliance rate.The score of enteral nutrition tolerance,the intra-abdominal pressure,the score of APACHE-Ⅱ and the level of acute gastriointestinal injury(AGI)grading were recorded.Results After treatment,the enteral feeding compliance rate was increased in compari-son with that before treatment in the two groups,and the rate in the observation group was higher than that of the con-trol group(P<0.05)except that on the 2nd day.The score of the enteral nutrition tolerance,the intra-abdominal pres-sure,the score of APACHE-Ⅱ and the level of AGI were all reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01)when compared with those be-fore treatment in the two groups,and these indicators in the observation group were lower(P<0.05)than those of the control group.Conclusion Acupuncture at the he-sea and front-mu points relieves the conditions of ENFI,improves the feeding and the recovery of gastrointestinal function,and benefits the prognosis through increasing the amount of enteral nutrition in ENFI patients.

BACKGROUND:In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved paired vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for patients with moderate-to-severe upper extremity motor impairments following chronic ischemic stroke.OBJECTIVE:Previous meta-analyses have shown that VNS may impact stroke rehabilitation, but each has some limitations.METHODS:PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and WHO ICTRP databases were searched until July 14, 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We defined primary outcomes as Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT). Subgroup analyses included types of VNS, time since onset and long-term effects. Secondary outcomes included adverse events of VNS.RESULTS:Eight RCTs involving 266 patients were analyzed, of which five used direct VNS and three transcutaneous auricular VNS. The results revealed that VNS enhanced upper extremity function via FMA-UE (SMD = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.99; P < 0.00001) and WMFT (SMD = 0.82; 95% CI:0.52 to 1.13; P < 0.00001) in comparison to the control group, but showed no significant change on long-term effects of FMA-UE (SMD = 0.69; 95% CI: - 0.06 to 1.44; P = 0.07). There was no difference in adverse events between the VNS and control groups (RR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.46 to 2.92; P = 0.74).CONCLUSION:For stroke victims with upper limb disabilities, VNS paired with rehabilitation was significantly safe and effective. More high-quality multicentric RCTs are needed to validate this conclusion.

Objectives The goal of this study was to use cone-beam computed tomography to locate the electrode–modiolus distance (EMD) and correlate this with speech perception in cochlear implant (CI) recipients of the 31.5-mm lateral wall (LW) electrode arrays. Study Design Retrospective review. Patients Forty-five child CI recipients with prelingual profound sensorineural hearing loss of inserted 31.5-mm LW arrays listening with a CI-alone device. Interventions Stepwise forward multiple linear regression was performed to control and reduce the variability in implant performance to determine whether EMD affects speech perception. Main Outcome Measures Electrode location (angular insertion depth [AID], EMD), together with the electrode impedance (EI), surgical approach, sex, CI age, and preimplant hearing aid usage were estimated as independent variables. The dependent variables were the Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS) and parents’ evaluation of children’s aural/oral performance (PEACH) assessed with the CI alone at 12 months postactivation. Results EMD and CI age were predictive variables for PEACH/MUSS. A negative correlation was found between AID and EMD ( r = −0.56, p < 0.01), whereas EMD had a moderately positive correlation with EI ( r = 0.32, p < 0.01). Conclusions The best “location-related” predictor of postoperative speech perception was EMD with a 31.5-mm array among CI-alone users.

The extensive usage and production of copper may lead to toxic effects in organisms due to its accumulation in the environment. Traditional methods for copper detection are time consuming and infeasible for field usage. It is necessary to discover a real-time, rapid and economical method for detecting copper to ensure human health and environmental safety. Here we developed a colorimetric paper strip method and optimized spectrum method for rapid detection of copper ion based on the specific copper chelator bathocuproinedisulfonic acid disodium salt (BCS). Both biological assays and chemical methods verified the specificity of BCS for copper. The optimized reaction conditions were 50 mM Tris–HCl pH 7.4, 200 µM BCS, 1 mM ascorbate and less than 50 µM copper. The detection limit of the copper paper strip test was 0.5 mg/L by direct visual observation and the detection time was less than 1 min. The detection results of grape, peach, apple, spinach and cabbage by the optimized spectrum method were 0.91 μg/g, 0.87 μg/g, 0.19 μg/g, 1.37 μg/g and 0.39 μg/g, respectively. The paper strip assays showed that the copper contents of grape, peach, apple, spinach and cabbage were 0.8 mg/L, 0.9 mg/L, 0.2 mg/L, 1.3 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L, respectively. These results correlated well with those determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The visual detection limit of the paper strip based on Cu-BCS-AgNPs was 0.06 mg/L. Our study demonstrates the potential for on-site, rapid and cost-effective copper monitoring of foods and the environment.

Anxiety, depression, sleep disorder, fatigue, and pain develop as common psychoneurological symptoms in patients with glioma, and their occurrence and development are potentially related to inflammatory factors. However, this theory has not been proven within the context of glioma. This study aimed to estimate interconnections among psychoneurological symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers by a network analysis. We selected 203 patients with stage I–IV glioma from a tertiary hospital in China using convenient sampling method. Patients completed the self-made questionnaires, Hamilton Anxiety Scale-14 (HAMA-14), Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 (MFI-20), and pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). The plasma inflammatory cytokines were examined. Partial correlation network analysis was performed to illustrate interactions of symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers. Among the 203 included patients, all psychoneurological symptoms, except for depression and pain, exhibited significant connections with each other. Depression, anxiety, fatigue, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) with higher strength centrality indices were identified as the most central node within the symptom-biomarker network. Depression, anxiety, fatigue, IL-6, and TNF-α play a significant role in the symptom-biomarker network in patients with glioma. Medical staff should strengthen the dynamic evaluation of the involved symptoms and inflammatory cytokines and take effective measures to alleviate the burden of symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients.

Abstract Background Psychological capital is affected by different cultures and professional characteristics and its constituent dimensions and evaluation tools are heterogeneous. There is a lack of measurements for assessing nurses’ psychological capital considering nursing professional characteristics and Chinese cultural impacts. Aims To develop a psychological capital scale that conforms to the Chinese cultural background and the characteristics of nursing profession, and evaluate the preliminary validation of the Nurses Psychological Capital Scale. Methods Nurses were conveniently recruited from two tertiary hospitals, Hebei, China. The research process included three steps: item development (Delphi survey and pilot survey), scale development (item analysis and exploratory factor analysis), scale validation (reliability and validity test). Results Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 43-item scale comprised three factors (work task-oriented psychological capital, interpersonal relationship-oriented psychological capital and learning development-oriented psychological capital). Exploratory factor analysis showed the factor loadings ranging from 0.460 to 1.029. Three factors explained 68.71% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate model fit (x 2/df =2.839, RMR = 0.041, RMSEA = 0.078, IFI = 0.872, TLI = 0.863, CFI = 0.871, PNFI = 0.768). The Cronbach’s α for the scale was 0.975. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was 0.83 ~ 1.00, scale-level average content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.988. Conclusion The Nurse Psychological Capital Scale had good reliability and validity, which is a reliable evaluation measure for assessing psychological capital among nurses.

The sensory quality and health benefits of Pu-erh tea are mainly determined by microbial fermentation processing. The directed exogenous inoculation of specific microorganisms is an effective method to improve the quality and flavor of Pu-erh tea. In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were introduced into the fermentation processes of Pu-erh tea, as they are the main contributors to enzyme secretion, to change the tea’s functional components. The raw tea materials, spontaneous fermentation tea and microbiological fermentation tea were analyzed by microbiomics and metabolomics. A total of 248 metabolites were characterized, 71 of which were identified as essential metabolites involved in the metabolic changes. These essential metabolites were produced by specific dominant microbial species with multivariate analysis methods. Metabolites essential to the sensory quality and health benefits of Pu-erh tea, such as flavonoids and free amino acids, were increased in tea samples inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae following fermentation. Fungal diversity decreased after fermentation, and both the diversity and richness of bacteria were significantly decreased. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the advantages of Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in forming the unique sensory characteristics of Pu-erh tea, and they indicate that the microbial composition is a key factor in altering the tea’s metabolic profile. Our work establishes a theoretical foundation for the promotion of the safety and quality of Pu-erh tea through exogenous inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In this paper, our object of investigation is the endpoint regularity of the following general maximal operator, ℳ_Φ f(x)=sup _r,s≥ 0 r+s>0Φ (r+s)∫ _x-r^x+s|f(y)|dy, and minimal operator, m_Φ f(x)=inf _r,s≥ 0 r+s>0Φ (r+s)∫ _x-r^x+s|f(y)|dy, where Φ (t):(0,∞ )→ (0,∞ ) is a non-increasing continuous function and satisfies B_q:=sup _t>0tΦ (t)^q<∞ for some q≥ 1 . We prove that if f:ℝ→ℝ is a function of bounded variation, then max{Var_q(ℳ_Φ f),Var_q(m_Φ f)}≤ (8B_q)^1/qVar(f). Here, Var_q(f) denotes the q -variation of f and Var_q(f)=Var(f) when q=1 . Similar results are proved for the discrete versions of the above operators.

Background: Studies on the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) on postoperative gastrointestinal function (PGIF) recovery in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients have been increasing, but the findings are inconsistent. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of EA on PGIF recovery in patients with CRC based on existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and assess whether the current evidence is conclusive by trial sequential analysis (TSA). Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase (Ovid), Medline, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang) were searched for RCTs published from inception to November 6, 2022. RCTs in which EA was compared with sham control (sham electroacupuncture, SA) or usual care (UC) for managing PGIF recovery in patients with CRC were included. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, two reviewers independently extracted data as well as assessed the risk of bias using the cochrane risk of bias tool (ROB 2.0) and the certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Data were screened and extracted independently using predesigned forms. Data were pooled using a random-effects model. Results: Sixteen studies, including 1290 patients with CRC that showed PGIF recovery met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis revealed that compared with the UC group, EA + UC group showed a significant improvement in the time to first flatus (MD: -14.59, 95% CI: -22.75 to -6.43, P < 0.01), time to first defecation (MD: -20.28, 95% CI: -28.14 to -12.42, P < 0.01), and time to first bowel sounds (MD: -11.79, 95% CI: -18.97 to -4.60, P < 0.01). The TSA confirmed the better treatment outcomes of EA compared with UC. Compared with the SA group, EA + UC group showed a significant improvement in the time to first flatus (MD: -10.48, 95% CI: [-13.74, -7.21], P < 0.01) and time to first defecation (MD: -10.72, 95% CI: [-20.14, -1.30], P = 0.03), and the improvement in time to first bowel sounds (MD: -5.41, 95% CI -12.43 to 1.60, P = 0.13) was similar. The TSA indicated there might be false positive results and further studies with a larger overall sample size are deemed necessary. The reported adverse events related to acupuncture were less serious. Conclusion: EA has great potential to accelerate the recovery of PGIF for patients with CRC. RCTs with usual care control was sufficient. Additional pre-registered and sham-controlled RCTs are still needed to validate the safety and efficacy of EA.

We introduce two discrete multilinear maximal and minimal operators associated to the function [Formula: see text], which cover the classical discrete multilinear maximal and minimal operators and their fractional variants. Under a more restrictive condition on [Formula: see text], we establish some new variation boundedness and continuity of the above operators, which is new and interesting even in the linear case. It should be pointed out that the main results we obtain not only extend and improve some known ones in the maximal setting, but also supplement some new results in the minimal setting.

The standardization of terms and definitions is fundamental to all activities in the domain of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). For decades, definitions of TCM terminology relied on conventional verbal representations to differentiate between related concepts. However, the ancient Chinese is obscure and comprises a massive volume of information, making it difficult to convey the definition accurately in other languages. This article proposes a potential solution that the definition for pulse terminology can be supplemented by modern means of non-verbal representation, i.e., using pulse waveform graphs and parameters to complete the definition of each pulse. A discussion of the challenges of obtaining reliable data is also included.

Background Postoperative ileus (POI) is an important complication of gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. Acupuncture has been increasingly used in treating POI. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for POI following GI surgery. Methods Seven databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) and related resources were searched from inception to May 30, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the acupuncture for POI in GI were included. The quality of RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool, and the certainty of the evidence was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. A meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.4 software. Results Eighteen RCTs involving 1413 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture could reduce the time to first flatus (TFF) (standardized mean difference [SMD] = −1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.54 to −0.73, P < 0.00001), time to first defecation (TFD) (SMD = −1.31, 95% CI: −1.88 to −0.74, P < 0.00001), time to bowel sounds recovery (TBSR) (SMD = −1.57, 95% CI: −2.14 to −1.01, P < 0.00001), and length of hospital stay (LOS) (mean difference [MD] = −1.68, 95% CI: −2.55 to −0.80, P = 0.0002) compared with usual care. A subgroup analysis found that acupuncture at distal acupoints once daily after surgery had superior effects on reducing TFF and TFD. A sensitivity analysis supported the validity of the finding. Acupuncture also manifested an effect of reducing TFF, TFD and TBSR compared with sham acupuncture but the result was not stable. Relatively few trials have reported whether adverse events have occurred. Conclusions Acupuncture showed a certain effect in reducing POI following GI surgery with very low-to-moderate quality of evidence. The overall safety of acupuncture should be further validated. More high-quality, large-scale, and multicenter original trials are needed in the future.

Objective: To systematically review the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture on acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) in critically ill patients.Methods: The randomized control trials of acupuncture for AGI in critically ill patients were retrieved from the databases, from inception to the cutoff date in August, 2021, including China National Knowl-edge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), PubMed, Science Direct and Cochrane Library. Simultaneously, the accomplished and published RCTs were further searched from American clinical trial registry platform ( https://clinicaltrials.gov ) and Chinese clinical trial registry plat-form ( www.chictr.org.cn ). Two researchers extracted the data and performed the quality evaluation of the eligible articles independently. The meta-analysis was undertaken, by using RevMan 5.4.Results: Totally, 15 papers were included, involving 1316 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that after treated with acupuncture, the differences were statistical significance as compared with the routine treatment group in the score of the second edition of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHEII ) (MD =-1.98, 95% CI[-3.23,-0.73], P = 0.002), gastrointestinal dysfunction score (MD =-0.33, 95% CI [-0.41,-0.24], P < 0.0 0 0 01), the intra-abdominal pressure (mmHg) (MD =-2.74, 95% CI [-3.81,-1.67], P < 0.0 0 0 01), intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (MD =-3.15, 95% CI [-5.99,-0.30], P < 0.0 0 0 01) and fatality rate in 28-day (RR = 0.57, 95% CI [0.39, 0.85], P = 0.006) in critically ill patients with AGI, respectively.Conclusion: The limited available evidence suggests that acupuncture relieves clinical symptoms and poor prognosis in the critically ill patients with AGI, thus, it is one of the potential therapies to AGI. Hence, acupuncture should be recommended into the regimen of AGI in critically ill patients and more high -quality and multi-central trials can be undertaken in the further.(c) 2022 World Journal of Acupuncture Moxibustion House. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a kind of intestinal inflammatory disease that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract and the incidence rate of CD is gradually increasing worldwide. Acupuncture and moxibustion have unique curative effects on gastrointestinal diseases and can be new options for the treatment of CD.

OBJECTIVE:To compare the therapeutic effect between Fanzhen Jieci (warming acupuncture plus fast needling) combined with conventional acupuncture and simple conventional acupuncture on discogenic sciatica.METHODS:A total of 76 patients with discogenic sciatica were randomized into a Fanzhen Jieci group and a conventional acupuncture group, 38 cases in each one. Conventional acupuncture was applied at Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25), L1-L5 Jiaji (EX-B 2) and Huantiao (GB 30) on the affected side, etc. in the conventional acupuncture group. On the basis of the treatment in the conventional acupuncture group, Fanzhen Jieci was applied at L1-L5 Jiaji (EX-B 2) and Huantiao (GB 30) on the affected side in the Fanzhen Jieci group, i.e. warming acupuncture was applied at L1-L5 Jiaji (EX-B 2), and fast needling was applied at Huantiao (GB 30) on the affected side for a depth of 40-60 mm, so as to introduce a sensation of electric shock transmitting to lower limb, and then the needle was immediately withdrawn. The treatment was given once every other day, 3 times a week for 3 weeks in both groups. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score of leg and low back pain, the Oswestry disability index (ODI) score and the 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) score before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.RESULTS:Compared before treatment, the VAS scores of leg and low back pain and the ODI scores after treatment were decreased in both groups (P<0.001), the changes of the VAS scores of leg and low back pain in the Fanzhen Jieci group were larger than those in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05). After treatment, except for the role emotional and health transition scores, the various scores of SF-36 were increased compared before treatment in the Fanzhen Jieci group (P<0.01); except for the role physical, role emotional and health transition scores, the various scores of SF-36 were increased compared before treatment in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.01). After treatment, the physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, mental health and general health scores of SF-36 in the Fanzhen Jieci group were higher than those in the conventional acupuncture group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Fanzhen Jieci combined with conventional acupuncture can effectively relieve the pain and improve the mental state in patients with discogenic sciatica, its therapeutic effect is superior to simple conventional acupuncture.