Efficacy evaluation of summer acupoint application treatment on asthma patients: a two-year follow-up clinical study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the self-efficacy and satisfaction of asthma patients subjected to summer acupoint application treatment (SAAT). METHODS: A two-year follow-up clinical study was conducted. Patients with asthma were treated by applying a herbal paste onto the Feishu (BL 13) and Fengmen (BL 12) acupoints on the three hottest days of summer, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, from 2008 to 2010. During a two-year follow-up, these patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire evaluating asthma degree, exacerbation frequency, concomitant medications and self-satisfaction. The self-rate and doctor-report outcomes obtained in parallel were evaluated to assess the efficacy of SAAT. RESULTS: A total of 527 asthma patients were initially enrolled in this study, of which 97 elderly patients and those with more severe cases of asthma were lost to follow-up. Thus, a total of 430 patients were valid for analysis using self-rate data. Nevertheless, occasional negative returns were obtained; almost all of the outcomes were rated as No change, Moderate effective, or Very effective. In addition, 80% of the patients were satisfied with this treatment. Moreover, 391 (91.4%) patients were somewhat improved after SAAT in 2009, and further improvement was observed in 2010. After SAAT, the average asthma-degree score decreased from 5.3 in 2008 to 4 in 2009 and, subsequently to 3.5 in 2010. CONCLUSION: With pronounced patient satisfaction, SAAT can reduce the exacerbation severity and frequency, concomitant medications and asthma degree. Prolonging the treatment course might enhance the efficacy of SAAT. (C) 2015 JTCM. All rights reserved.