Efficacy of acupuncture treatment in visual field defect: A case report

Visual field defect refers to an impairment of the visual field resulting from damage to the retina, optic nerve, or brain. Visual field defect has a significant impact on the daily life of the patient. There are few clinical trials of acupuncture for visual field loss and even fewer trials of peripheral-central acupuncture for visual field loss. We report a case of visual field loss due to trauma.

Despite undergoing oral and maxillofacial surgery and visual rehabilitation training at our hospital, the patient continued to have low light sensitivity, significant visual field fluctuations, and poor eye movement coordination in his right eye.

The patient was diagnosed with a visual field defect.

According to the clinical experience of Professor Jin Rui, a renowned acupuncturist in China, we selected "three eye-needling" and "three brain-needling" techniques to treat the patient. As a traditional neuroregulatory rehabilitation technique, this treatment scheme conforms to the treatment paradigm of "central-peripheral-central closed-loop rehabilitation" through the combination of central and peripheral intervention.

After 6 months of treatment, patients reported improvement in symptoms and we observed significant improvements in the Humphrey perimetry results of the patient's right eye. These findings suggest a considerable enhancement in the visual field. At the same time, the quality of life of patients also improved.

The findings demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of "peripheral-central" bidirectional acupuncture in treating visual field defects in this case. This study demonstrated the application of the "central-peripheral-central closed-loop rehabilitation" mode in clinical practice through the application of traditional Chinese medicine characteristic therapies "three eye-needling" and "three brain-needling."