Acupuncture treatment of lung-spleen Qi deficiency in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized,...

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture that reinforces the spleen to strengthen the lung in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

This was a randomized, open-controlled trial in which the acupuncturist and the participants were not blinded, but the outcome evaluators and data analysts were blinded. One-hundred-and-two patients with stable COPD were randomly divided into two groups in a 1∶1 ratio. The acupuncture group received 30-minute sessions of acupuncture therapy at the same acupoints three times weekly for 6 weeks in addition to routine conventional Western Medicine treatment; the control group received routine conventional Western Medicine treatment alone. The primary outcome was the Borg scale score, which was assessed immediately after the 6-minute walk test. The secondary outcomes were the 6-minute walk distance, lung function, and oxygen saturation. Measurements were obtained at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment.

After 6 weeks of treatment, the Borg scale score in the acupuncture group was significantly better than that in the control group (2.02 ± 0.71 versus 5.01 ± 0.34, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the post-treatment improvements in the 6-minute walk distance, lung function, and oxygen saturation were significantly greater in the acupuncture group than in the control group, showing that the acupuncture group had better exercise tolerance.

The findings suggest that acupuncture that aims to reinforce the spleen to strengthen the lung is a safe and effective adjuvant therapy that effectively improves the exercise capacity of patients with stable COPD.