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[Thumbtack needle combined with western medicine rehabilitation training for high-risk infants: a randomized
Lunyan Xie1, Xianyu Deng2, Xiaoping Peng3
1Department of Pediatrics, Yibin Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Yibin 644600, Sichuan Province, China.
Insights
Thumbtack needle therapy combined with rehabilitation training significantly improved physical growth and neurodevelopment in high-risk infants. This integrated approach also reduced the incidence of adverse outcomes compared to conventional rehabilitation alone.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- High-risk infants often experience developmental delays and require specialized interventions.
- Western medicine rehabilitation is standard, but its efficacy can be enhanced.
- Exploring complementary therapies like thumbtack needle acupuncture is crucial for optimizing infant care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of thumbtack needle therapy combined with Western medicine rehabilitation for high-risk infants.
- To compare physical growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes between infants receiving combined therapy versus conventional therapy alone.
- To analyze the impact of this integrated approach on the risk of adverse outcomes.
Main Methods:
- 160 high-risk infants were randomized into two groups: observation (thumbtack needle + Western rehab) and control (Western rehab alone).
- Thumbtack needle therapy was applied to specific acupoints (CV6, CV4, GV14, ST36, BL23, SP6) every two days for 24-hour retention over two months.
- Physical growth (length, weight, head circumference) and neurodevelopmental indexes (motor skills, adaptive ability, language, social behavior, DQ) were assessed at baseline, 1, 2, and 4 months post-treatment.
Main Results:
- Both groups showed significant improvements in physical growth and neurodevelopmental scores over time (P<0.001).
- The observation group demonstrated significantly higher physical growth and neurodevelopmental scores compared to the control group at all follow-up points (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05).
- Body length was positively correlated with adaptive ability, social behavior, and developmental quotient (DQ) values. The observation group had a significantly lower risk of adverse outcomes (RR<1, P<0.01).
Conclusions:
- Combining thumbtack needle therapy with Western medicine rehabilitation significantly enhances physical growth and neurodevelopment in high-risk infants.
- This integrated approach is effective in improving motor skills, adaptive abilities, language, and social behaviors.
- The combined therapy reduces the risk of adverse outcomes, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for high-risk infants.
Objective:
To explore the efficacy of thumbtack needle combined with western medicine rehabilitation training for high-risk infants.
Methods:
A total of 160 high-risk infants were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group at a ratio of 1∶1, 80 cases in each group. High-risk infants in the control group received western medicine rehabilitation training alone, while those in the observation group were treated with thumbtack needle at Qihai (CV6),Guanyuan (CV4), Dazhui (GV14), and bilateral Zusanli (ST36), Shenshu (BL23) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) on the basis of the treatment in the control group, the treatment was given once every 2 days, the needles were retained for 24 h each time, and the treatment lasted for 2 months. Before treatment, after 1, 2 months of treatment, and after 4 months of treatment completion, the physical growth indexes (body length, body weight, head circumference) and neuropsychological development indexes (scores of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, adaptive ability, language, social behavior and developmental quotient[DQ] value) were compared between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the correlation between physical growth indexes and neuropsychological development indexes before and after treatment. Log-binomial regression model was established to analyze the effect of the two intervention strategies on the risk of adverse outcomes.
Results:
With the extension of treatment duration, the body length, body weight, head circumference, the scores of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, adaptive ability, language, social behavior, and the DQ values showed an upward trend in both groups (P<0.001). Moreover, the above mentioned indexes in the observation group were higher than those in the control group after 1, 2 months of treatment, and after 4 months of treatment completion (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that body length was positively correlated with adaptive ability scores, social behavior scores and DQ values at the corresponding time points of after 1, 2 months of treatment, and after 4 months of treatment completion (P<0.01, P<0.001, P<0.05). Log-binomial regression model analysis showed that the risk of adverse outcomes in high-risk infants in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (RR<1, P<0.01).
Conclusion:
Thumbtack needle combined with western medicine rehabilitation training can improve the physical growth and neuropsychological development of high-risk infants, and reduce the risk of adverse outcomes.