Clinical research of acupuncture and herb combine mild hypothermia to treat traumatic brain injury patients

Abstract

Objectives To research clinical effects of severe brain injury patients treated by acupuncture and herb combine mild hypothermia, discuss the new approach of severe brain injury patients treatment combine Chinese traditional and Western medicine. Methods Investigated 68 severe traumatic brain injured patients, randomly divided into three groups, acupuncture and herb combine mild hypothermia group (n=22), mild hypothermia group (n=24) and normal temperature routine treatment group (n=22). Dynamic intracranial pressure, brain damage index (cytoskeletal protein), immunologic function (IL-6, β2 microglobulin), combine rate of complications (including irritable ulcer, lung infection, epilepsy, sugar metabolism disorder, and so on), and long-term GOS score were analyzed. SPSS12.0 software was used for statistical processing, and the standard deviation of the measurement data were expressed as the standard deviation. The counting data were expressed as apercentage, and the chi-square test was used for the comparison between group. Results There were significant differences between three groups of intracranial pressure, immunologic function, complication occurring rate(P<0.05), but there had no significant difference between acupuncture and herb combine mild hypothermia group and mild hypothermia group of brain damage index and GOS, and there have significant difference between these two groups and normal temperature routine treatment group. Conclusions Acupuncture and herb combined mild hypothermia might be better in reducing intracranial pressure, the incidence of complication, and improving immune function of severe brain injury, than mild hypothermia group and normal temperature routine treatment group. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Postoperative complications; Treatment outcome; Mild hypothermia; Acupuncture and herb treatment