Abstract:

Objective

To observe effects of thick needle puncturing Danzhong （RN 17） on C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).

Methods

Ninety AECOPD patients were selected and randomly divided into control group, traditional needle puncturing group and thick needle puncturing group (n=30 for each group ). Patients in control group received symptomatic treatment, those in traditional needle puncturing group received symptomatic treatment plus acupuncture subcutaneously 100 mm deep from Zigong (RN 19) to Danzhong (RN 17) by a traditional needle puncturing, and retaining for 3 hours. Patients in thick needle puncturing group received symptomatic therapy plus puncturing subcutaneously 100 mm deep from Zigong (RN 19) to Danzhong (RN 17) by a thick stainless steel needle and retaining for 3 hours. Patients were treated for 10 days in three groups. The Serum Changes of CRP were observed before and after 10-day treatment. All data were processed by SPSS13.0 for windows.Results were demonstrated by mean±standard deviation. The single factor analysis of variance was used for comparing mean difference between groups. Data of three groups were compared using LSD-t test. The paired t test was used in data before and after treatment. When P＜0.05, it shows that the difference was statistically significant.

Results

Before and after 10-day treatment, the serum levels of CRP were (2.111±0.207) mg/L and (1.676±0.321) mg/L in control group respectively. The difference was statistically significant (t=-12.157，P＜0.01). The serum levels of CRP were (2.033±0.204) mg/L and (1.255±0.193)mg/L before and after 10-day treatment in traditional needle puncturing group respectively. The difference was statistically significant( t=-67.206，P＜0.01 ). The serum levels of CRP were ( 2.096±0.230）mg/L and ( 0.601±0.097 ) mg/L in thick needle puncturing group before and after 10-day treatment. There was a significant difference before and after 10-day treatment ( t=-60.242，P＜0.01 ). Before treatment, there were no significant differences in serum levels of CRP between three groups ( F=1.603，P＞0.05 ). After 10-day treatment, there were significant differences in the serum levels of CRP ( F=176.705, P＜0.01 ). There was a significant difference in the serum level of CRP between traditional needle puncturing group and control group( t=7.303，P＜0.01 ). Compared thick needle puncturing group and control group, there as a significant difference in the serum level of CRP between thick needle puncturing group and control group (t=18.653，P＜0.01). There was also a significant difference in the serum level of CRP between thick needle puncturing group and traditional needle puncturing group( t=11.350，P＜0.01 ).

Conclusion

The needle puncturing ( RN 17 ) point through can significantly reduce the serum level of CRP in patients with AECOPD, which is more significant in thick needle puncturing group than that of traditional needle puncturing group.

Key words: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive, Acupuncture therapy, C-reactive protein, Danzhong（RN 17）