SUMMARY: 72 children between 1-6 years old with pneumonia with dyspnea and cough were randomly divided into control group and treatment group, with 36 subjects in each group. All subjects met the diagnostic criteria of pneumonia with dyspnea and cough, and subjects with other pulmonary disease and hepatic or renal dysfunction were excluded from this study. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, gender and course of disease (P > 0.05).
In the control group, subjects received routine conventional treatment, including anti-infection, anti-tussive, anti-asthmatic, and antipyretic; other treatments were prescribed according to the results of pathogen analysis. In addition to routine conventional treatment, subjects in the treatment group also received acupoint patch therapy. The ingredients of patch included: Ma Huang 10g (麻黃, Herba Ephedrae), Xing Ren 10g (杏仁 Semen Armeniacae Amarum) and Xi Xin 10g (細辛, Herba Asari). All ingredients were grounded into powder and mixed with honey to form a paste, and 0.5g of the paste was applied on gauze to make a patch. Apply one patch on each of the following acupoints (bilaterally): BL-13 (肺俞 Fei Shu), BL-23 (腎俞 Shen Shu), ST-36 (足三里 Zu San Li), EX-B1(定喘 Ding Chuan), REN-17 (膻中 Dan Zhong). The patch was applied for 1 hour twice a day for 7 days.
A subject was considered as: 1). Cured: wheezing, rales, and cough all resolved; 2). Markedly Improved: wheezing and cough significantly improved, and rales significantly reduced; 3). Improved: wheezing, cough and rales reduced; 4). No response: no change or worsening in clinical signs and symptoms. Number of days to achieve symptom relief, scores on signs and symptom evaluation before and after treatment were also monitored to assess the clinical efficacy.
Table 1. Comparison on Clinical Efficacy in Treating Pneumonia and Cough between the Treatment Group and Control Group
| Cured/n | n | Cured/n | Markedly Improved/n | Improved/n | No Response/n | Total Effective Rate (%) |
| Treatment | 36 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 94.44 |
| Control | 36 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 77.78 |
| χ2 | 4.1806 | |||||
| P value | <0.05 |
According to Table 1, the total effective rate for the treatment group was 94.44%, which was significantly higher than the control group (77.78%) (P<0.05). The result also showed that the number of days to achieve symptom relief was significantly shorter and the scores for signs and symptom evaluations were also significantly lower in the treatment group (P<0.05). This indicates that acupoint patch therapy can increase the clinical efficacy in treating pneumonia and cough in the pediatric population, potentially by regulating Qi, moving Blood, dispersing coldness and improving local circulation to the lungs.
Yusha Wang, et al. Chinese Medicine Modern Distance Education of China. 2022. 20 (10): 117-118