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Evaluation of the effect of acupuncture on pain of patients with refractory trigeminal neuralgia

针灸治疗难治性三叉神经痛疗效评价

  • Clinical Study
  • Published:
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To assess the effect of acupuncture on pain of patients with refractory trigeminal neuralgia (TN).

Methods

Acupuncture was accomplished for 14 patients with refractory TN, 3 sessions in a week for 10 sessions. Every treatment session lasted about 30 min. The pain severity of patients was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) at days 0, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 1 month later as follow up. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 18.0.

Results

The mean age of participants was (59.4±13.2) years old. The VAS points decreased from day 0 to the follow-up. As the results showed, the amount of VAS points decreased by acupuncture has emerged more significance in comparisons between days 0, 3 and days 14, 21, and the one-month follow-up, the differences in VAS points on the mentioned days were significant (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Acupuncture can cause proper pain relief for refractory TN. Acupuncture can induce an analgesic effect after multiple repetitions of therapeutic sessions.

【摘要】

目的

评价针刺对难治性三叉神经痛(TN)患者疼痛的影响。

方法

共14例难治性TN患者接受针刺干预, 每周3次, 共10次。每次治疗持续30 min。于干预前及干预3、7、14、21天及1个月后随访时采用视觉模拟量表(VAS)评分评价患者疼痛程度。数据采用SPSS 18.0软件进行分析。

结果

观察对象平均年龄(59.4&plusmn;13.2)岁。VAS评分随着治疗次数增加而下降。结果显示干预前、干预3天与干预14天、21天及1个月随访时的VAS评分差值均有统计学差异(P<0.05)。

结论

针刺治疗能减轻难治性TN患者的疼痛。多次针刺治疗后能产生镇痛效果。

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank the Vice-Chancellor of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences for supporting this research (Grant No. 18108). This manuscript is based on the thesis by Dr. Zahra Tabassom. The authors also thank Nematollahi of the Center for Research Improvement of the School of Dentistry for the statistical analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral and Dental Disease Research Center, Oral and Maxillofacial Disease Department, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Fatemeh Lavaee & Zahra Ranjbar

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Farideh Rafiee

  3. School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Zahra Tabassom

Authors
  1. Fatemeh Lavaee
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  2. Farideh Rafiee
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  3. Zahra Tabassom
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  4. Zahra Ranjbar
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Correspondence to Zahra Ranjbar.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Statement of Informed Consent

This study has been registered on Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial (IRCT 20120101008585N8). Informed consent was obtained from all individuals in this study.

Author: Fatemeh Lavaee, assistant professor

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Lavaee, F., Rafiee, F., Tabassom, Z. et al. Evaluation of the effect of acupuncture on pain of patients with refractory trigeminal neuralgia. J. Acupunct. Tuina. Sci. 19, 444–448 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-021-1273-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11726-021-1273-5

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