Observation of effect of treating acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by applying midnight-midday ebb-flow acupoint massage

Abstract

Objective To discuss the effect of applying midnight-midday ebb-flow acupoint massage to patients of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods Selected 60 patients of AECOPD in the respiratory department. They were divided into two groups randomly, the observed group and the compared group, with 30 patients in each group. The compared group applied regular treatment and care, while the observed group combined midnight-midday ebb-flow acupoint and bladder meridian between 3 pm. to 5 pm. The treatment lasted seven days. Compared the evaluation of the patients′ main symptoms such as coughs,expectoration,gasp, panting and the changes of PaO2, PaCO2, and SaO2 before and after treatment, and compared the overall efficiency of treatment and average length of stay in hospital. Results After treatment, the ratings of symptoms of the observed group in coughs, expectoration, gasp, panting were (1.51±0.23), (1.12±0.74), (2.05±0.29), (0.25±0.18) points, while the compared group were (2.41 ± 0.25), (2.62 ± 0.64), (3.66 ± 0.24), (2.24 ± 0.32) points. The difference in two groups was valid in terms of statistics (t=2.884-4.147, P < 0.05). After treatment, the index of PaO2,PaCO2,and SaO2 in the observed group were (80.80 ± 2.16) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), (50.38 ± 6.67) mmHg,0.982 ± 0.014. The compared group was (71.38 ± 1.24) mmHg, (58.42 ± 4.89) mmHg, 0.873±0.027.The difference was valid in terms of statistics (t= 2.358, 3.543, 4.152, P < 0.05); the overall efficiency of the the observed group was 93.3%, and the compared group was 83.3%. The difference was valid in terms of statistics (χ2=2.466, P < 0.05); in terms of average length of stay in hospital, the observed group was (11.4 ± 1.8) days, and the compared group was (15.6 ± 2.0) days, and the observed group was apparently lower than the compared group (t=2.694, P<0.05). Conclusions The massage of midnight-midday ebb-flow acupoint massage can relieve the symptoms of patients of AECOPD, improve patients’ index in arterial blood gas analysis and care effect, shorten the stay in hospital and better the life quality. Key words: Lung disease, chronic obstruction; Phlegm and blood stasis resistance lung; Midnight-midday ebb flow; Acupoint massage; Traditional Chinese medical care