Comparative study on treatment of acute gouty arthritis by electroacupuncture with different frequency

Abstract

To study the therapeutic effect of treatment of acute gouty arthritis (AGA) respectively by electroacupuncture (EA) with different frequency and oral intake of Western medicine. Seventy-two patients of AGA were randomly assigned into three groups, 24 in each group. Group A was treated with EA 100 Hz; Group B with EA 2 Hz; and Group C with Western medicine. The analgesic effect, initiating time and sustaining time of analgesia were observed and the level of serum uric acid was measured before and after treatment. The initiating time of analgesia was shorter while the sustaining time of analgesia was longer in Group A and B than those in Group C (all P < 0.01). The efficacy of analgesia was higher in Group B than that in Group A, and a better effect was shown in Group B in reducing serum uric acid level than that in Group A (P < 0.01), which was near that in Group C (P > 0.05). EA is an effective treatment for AGA, and low frequency (2 Hz) EA showed a better efficacy.