Title : Clinical research on acupuncture calming the mind in treating patients with post-stroke depression
Abstract:
Background: On the basis of conventional treatment, explore the clinical efficacy of acupuncture calming the mind on the functional impact of patients with post-stroke depression (PSD).
Methods: Select hospitalized PSD patients treated in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2020, with a total of 372 patients screened and 146 meeting the inclusion criteria. According to a random number table, patients were simply randomized into an acupuncture group and a conventional treatment group, with 73 cases in each group. All patients received drug treatment for the underlying disease and acupuncture treatment for stroke, rehabilitation training, etc. On this basis, patients in the acupuncture group also received acupuncture calming the mind treatment at Neiguan, Shenmen, Yintang, Baihui, and Sishencong, once a day, for a continuous treatment of 8 weeks. Compare the scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the Hamilton Depression Scale-24 item (HAMD-24), and the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale of the two groups before treatment, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment, and the usage of the antidepressant sertraline hydrochloride.
Results: Before treatment, there was no statistical difference in the scores of various scales between the two groups (P > 0.05), which were comparable. After 4 weeks of treatment, both the conventional treatment group and the acupuncture group significantly improved NIHSS and HAMD-24 scores (P < 0.05). In the HAMD-24 score, the acupuncture group was better than the conventional treatment group (P < 0.05). Compared with the conventional treatment group, acupuncture also significantly improved the ADL score (P < 0.05). After 8 weeks of treatment, both acupuncture and conventional treatment significantly improved the NIHSS, HAMD-24, and ADL scores (P < 0.05); in the comparison between groups, the therapeutic effect of acupuncture was better than that of the conventional treatment group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the number of patients using sertraline hydrochloride, the duration of use, and the incidence of adverse reactions in the acupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the conventional control group.
Conclusion: On the basis of conventional treatment, the application of acupuncture calming the mind may have good therapeutic effects on improving the depressive state of PSD patients, restoring mental function, and improving the quality of life. Furthermore, acupuncture also has the potential to reduce the use and adverse reactions of antidepressants in PSD patients.
