Efficacy of wet cupping in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of wet cupping in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).Methods One hundred PHN patients were randomized into control group (n=53) (conventional therapies such as anticonvulsants,opioids,superlaser and so on) and wet cupping group (n--47) (wet cupping,on top of conventional therapies.Wet cupping is done first with a triangular needle pricking the skin briefly.Later vacuum tank was immediately placed on the skin so that,air extraction helped to suction the blood out.Wet cupping was administered,twice per week,lasting 4 weeks).Pain intensity was evaluated with visual analogue scale (VAS) before and four week after the treatment.Quality of life was evaluated with SF-36 form (China version),and sleep quality measured by Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) both before the treatment and after the treatment.Results Compared with before treatment [(8.6 ± 1.4),(8.7 ± 1.3)],the pain score in PHN patients decreased after treatment [(4.1 ± 1.5),(2.2±1.3)] in both group (P＜0.05).The rate of pain remission in wet cupping-treated group (74.1±2.3) was higher than that in control group(51.1±2.9) (P＜0.05).The sleep quality was improved for both group,especially for the wet-cupping group(5.8±2.8),compared with control group (8.5±1.2),Quality of life for the physical health have the same trend:wet cupping-treated group (67.9±5.5) compare with control group(55.1±6.0).Conclusions wet cupping can improve the efficacy of pain alleviation on top of conventional therapies in the treatment of PHN. Key words: Postherpetic neuralgia;  Wet cupping method