Clinical research of comprehensive treatment of sleep apnea syndrome with traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of TCM comprehensive therapy in the treatment of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). Methods Eighty-two SAS patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups, 41 in each group. The control group was treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The observation group was treated with traditional Chinese medicine, oral Chinese medicine, acupuncture, massage, and acupuncture points. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. Polysomnography (PSG) was used to evaluate the various stages of sleep, including total sleep time, hypopnea time, <90% oxygen saturation time. Results The total effective rate was 90.2% (37/41) of the observation group and 70.7% (29/41) of the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.970, P=0.026). After treatment, the sleep time (5.5 ± 0.7 h vs. 5.0 ± 0.6 h, t=3.556) of the treatment group was significantly longer than that of the control group (P<0.01). The hypoventilation time (45.1 ± 9.5 min vs. 50.2 ± 10.1 min, t=2.412), <90% oxygen saturation time (19.8 ± 9.6 min vs. 25.4 ± 10.1 min, t=2.635) was significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions Then comprehensive TCM therapy can alleviate the clinical symptoms of SAS patients, increase sleep time, and improve sleep quality. Key words: Sleep apnea syndromes; Acupuncture therapy; Tui Na therapy; Auricular plastertherapy; Continuous positive airway pressure