Acupuncture-moxibustion therapy of "banking up original qi and consolidating the foundation" for prevention and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture–moxibustion therapy of "banking up original qi and consolidating the foundation" for prevention and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. Methods Sixty included patients were divided into two groups according to the random number table method with 30 patients in each group. In acupuncture group, warming-needle moxibustion was carried out at Zusānlĭ (足三里ST 36), and cone moxibustion on Fuzĭ (附子 Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata) cake was conducted at Guānyuan (关元CV 4), Qihăi (气海CV 6) and Dazhuī (大椎GV 14). The treatment was conducted in May or June (2 months before the onset of rhinitis in this area). The treatment was carried out for once every other day and three times per week. Treatment for 24 times was considered as 1 course of treatment. No intervention treatment was conducted in control group. The score of rhinitis symptom, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score changes of total nasal symptom score (TNSS) and total non-nasal symptom score (TNNSS) of patients in 2015 and in 2016 were observed, and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared. Results (1) The score of rhinitis symptom, the VAS score changes of TNSS and TNNSS in acupuncture group in 2016 declined when compared with the results in 2015, which were 4.57 ± 0.82 vs 9.40 ± 1.89, 13.37 ± 4.01 vs 30.80 ± 4.77 and 15.93 ± 6.30 vs 46.13 ± 9.79 ( P P P  > 0.05). (2) The total effective rate was 96.7% (29/30) in acupuncture group and 10% (3/30) in control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P Conclusion Acupuncture–moxibustion therapy of "banking up original qi and consolidating the foundation" was effective on prevention and treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.