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Whether Fire-needle Therapy Benefits Plaque Psoriasis: A Multicenter, Randomized, and Controlled Trial

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Abstract

Objective

To observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of fire-needle therapy, an external approach of Chinese medicine in treating plaque psoriasis.

Methods

This study was a two-parallel-arm randomized controlled trial. A total of 151 participants with plaque psoriasis were randomly assigned to the fire-needle therapy group (treatment group, 76 cases) or the control group (75 cases) at a 1:1 allocation ratio using SAS software. All participants received Oral Huoxue Jiedu Decoction (活血解毒汤, HXJDD) and applied externally vaseline cream twice a day. Participants in the treatment group received fire-needle therapy once weekly for 4 weeks plus HXJDD and vaseline cream applied the same as the control group. The primary outcome measure was Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score, and the secondary outcomes were Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQL), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), as well as Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome score and photos of target lesions. The indices were evaluated before and after treatment.

Results

Sixty-eight patients in each group completed the study. The treatment group has not yet achieved significant improvement in PASI score (P>0.05) compared to the control group. However, significant differences were found between the two groups in relieving CM syndrome (P<0.05) and improving quality of life (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Fire-needle appears to be safe and may have benefit for psoriasis, the short-term treatment and small sample size limit the conclusions of this study. Further rigorous randomized controlled trials with longer treatment are recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China

    Hu-dan Pan, Xiao-li Qi, Lei Wang & Yan-ping Bai

  2. Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, 999078, China

    Hu-dan Pan

  3. Department of Dermatology, Tianjin Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital, Tianjin, 300120, China

    Xiao-li Qi

  4. Department of Dermatology, Shunyi District Branch of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 101300, China

    Jing-yan He & Jiu-li Liu

  5. Department of Dermatology, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100700, China

    Yun-bi Zhang, Ye Tian & Xing-wu Duan

  6. Department of Dermatology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100010, China

    Hao-yu Yang

Authors
  1. Hu-dan Pan
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  2. Xiao-li Qi
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  3. Lei Wang
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  4. Jing-yan He
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  7. Ye Tian
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  9. Hao-yu Yang
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  10. Yan-ping Bai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan-ping Bai.

Additional information

Supported by the External Treatment Technology Project, Chinese Medicine Science in Beijing, Undertaken by the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. WZF 2012-97)

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Pan, Hd., Qi, Xl., Wang, L. et al. Whether Fire-needle Therapy Benefits Plaque Psoriasis: A Multicenter, Randomized, and Controlled Trial. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 25, 259–263 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2940-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2940-8

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