Objective: This study was aimed to compare the efficacy among chronic asthma patients who received 1 course treatment, 2 courses treatment and 3 courses treatment of Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days. Methods: This study was comparing efficiency with 3 courses (baseline, the 1st course, the 2nd course, the 3rd course) of Tianjiu Therapy for asthma in 91 chronic asthma patients. For each course, patients received 3 times Tianjiu Therapy treatments, pretreatment assessment and posttrestment assessment. Results: 91 asthma participants completed at least 3 courses of Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days. 1) Days for asthma attacked during the last 12 months; the frequency for asthma attacked during the last 12 months; incidence of admitting to clinic (Integrated Chinese Medicine & Western Medicine Clinic) when asthma attack during the last 12 months; times of admitting to clinic; times of solving by persistent medicine; times of solving by own medicine when asthma attack during the last 12 months; and symptoms associated with Chinese medicine of waking by asthma symptoms, lack of strength, lassitude, rapid or difficult breathing were improved at the 1st course, the 2nd course and the 3rd course compared with baseline (All P < 0.05); 2) The incidence of admitting to In-patient Hospital and solving by persistent prescription when asthma attacked; the frequency of Chinese Herbal Medicine used during Tianjiu Therapy; the status of asthma under controlled and no improved by self-evaluation were similarly improved at the 2nd course and the 3rd course (All P < 0.05); 3) Incidence of admitting to A & E for asthma attacked during the last 12 months, and other treatments except Western Medicine, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and Acupuncture & Moxibution during the last 12 months were improvement at the 3rd course (All P < 0.05); 4) Symptoms associated with Chinese medicine of spontaneous sweating and reduction of exercise were improved at the 1st course (P < 0.05); 5) Symptom of diarrhea after intake of oil food was became a little bad at the 2nd course and the 3rd course (P < 0.05); 6) The frequency of bronchodilator used when asthma attack was reduced in the 1st course and the 2nd course (All P < 0.05); 7) Lung function of FEV1 and FEV1/FVC(×100) were a little improvement, but have no significant statistical difference (P > 0.05); 8) The total score of ACT at the 1st course, the 2nd course, and the 3rd course did not improved significantly (All P > 0.05). Conclusion: After Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days participants have achieved good efficiency, and as the course get longer, the efficiency of more symptoms associated with chronic asthma were improved. Suggest patients with chronic asthma continuous receive Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days which will be a feasible treatment.
Bronchial asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease, which belongs to “asthma disease” of the Traditional Chinese Medicine [
Modern research proved, acupoint sticking could enhance the body’s non-specific immune function and function of pituitary-adrenal cortex system, reduce the body’s allergic condition, achieve the effect of anti-allergic, and could remove bronchospasm and promote exudate absorption directly, so as to relieve asthma attack [
Asthma patients were recruited from the Orthopedics-Traumatology, Acupuncture and Tui-na Clinical Centre for Teaching and Research, School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong.
The patients are in both gender above 13 years old, and the participants must be diagnosed asthma before and have symptoms associated with chronic asthma in the past 12 months. In addition, all patients were needed to meet the following inclusion criteria: difficulty breathing; episodic symptoms of airflow obstruction; symptoms occurring or worsening at night; symptoms awakening the patients at night; chest tightness; cough (worse at night); symptoms occurring or worsening with exercise, viral infections, changes in weather and strong emotions. Patients would be excluded according to one or more of the following exclusion criteria: acute asthma attack; fever and pharyngitis; pregnancy; severe cardiac and pulmonary diseases; tuberculosis; severe heart diseases or with pacemaker; bleeding disorders; keloid; allergy to topical medication; hypersensitive skin condition; diabetes mellitus. And all patients who took part in the study needed to sign consent inform by themselves or their legal guardian (younger than 18 years old).
In this study, participants totally completed at least 3 treatment courses of Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days, pretreatment assessment and posttreatment assessment from 2010 to 2015. Every treatment course consisted 3 treatment sessions (3 treatment sessions were conducted in Sanfu Days in every year: for example, 19 July, 29 July and 8 August 2010 respectively). Both pretreatment assessment and posttreatment assessment included pulmonary function, questionnaires, and ACTs.
Baseline was set at before the first treatment course; Patients 1 year after the first course treatment and before the second course was set as the 1st course; Patients 1 year after the second course treatment and before the third course was set as the 2nd course; Patients 1 year after the third course treatment and before the forth course was set the 3rd course.
All questionnaires (
The three treatment times from 2010 to 2015 were as follow:
July19, July 29, and August 8, 2010;
July 14, July 24, and August 13, 2011;
July18, July 28, and August 7, 2012;
July 13, July 23, and August 12, 2013;
July18, July 27, and August 14, 2014;
Year of patients completed | Patients | Year of patients completed | Patients |
---|---|---|---|
2010-2011 and 2012-2013 | 6 | 2010-2011-2012-2013-2014 | 5 |
2010-2011 and 2012-2014 | 1 | 2010-2011-2012-2013-2015 | 2 |
2010-2011 and 2012-2015 | 2 | 2010-2011-2012-2014-2015 | 1 |
2010-2011 and 2013-2014 | 6 | 2010-2011-2013-2014-2015 | 5 |
2010-2011 and 2014-2015 | 2 | 2010-2012-2013-2014-2015 | 3 |
2010-2012 and 2013-2014 | 5 | 2010-2011-2012-2013-2014-2015 | 12 |
2010-2013 and 2014-2015 | 10 | 2011-2013-2014-2015 | 3 |
2011-2012 and 2013-2014 | 1 | 2011-2012-2013-2014-2015 | 11 |
2011-2012 and 2013-2015 | 1 | ||
2011-2012 and 2014-2015 | 4 | ||
2012-2013 and 2014-2015 | 11 |
July 13, July 23, and August 12, 2015.
11 acupoints were selected for attached by sticking patches: DU14, DU12, DU4, BL13 (both side), BL23 (both sides), BL43 (both sides) and EX-B1 (both sides) (
The formula mixed herbs was a combination of the record in the “Zhang’s Medicine” and the formula was frequency used in clinical trials just now, the proportion was 2:1:1:1:1:1:1:1: Sinapi Alba 120g, Radix Corydalis Yanhusuo 60 g, Processed Euphorbia kansui 60 g, Asari Herba cum Radice 60 g, Ephedrae Herba 60 g, Processed Radix Aconiti Praeparata 60 g, Cinnamomum cassia 60 g and Eugenia caryophyllata 60 g. These are for around 100 participants used. All of them were milled in to powder and mixed together by ginger juice, and then was made into pieces of cake-like objects, every piece was about 2 grams.
Every acupoint was applied one piece of the herbs, the herbs was stuck in skin by approximately 4 cm × 4 cm hypoallergenic tape (3 M Micropore Tape 1535-3).
Lung function included: FEV1, FEV1/FVC (%).
ACT included: In the past 4 weeks, 1) the times of asthma keep participants from getting as much done at work, school or at home, and 2) the frequency of shortness of breath, and 3) the frequency of asthma symptoms (whee zing, coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain) wake up at night or earlier than usual in the morning, 4) the frequency of using rescue inhaler or
nebulizer medication (such as albuterol), and 5) the rate of the asthma wad controlled. Participants could fill 1-5 scores for every question.
The questionnaire could be filled physicians “zero” when the participant wanted to fill “NO”, and filled “1” when they wanted to fill “YES”, For example: “Did you use any Western Medicine when paroxysm in the past 12 months?” if the answer is “YES”, then got “1” score, if the answer is “NO”, then got “0” score.
Questionnaire included: 1) Asthma first attacked time; 2) Courses of asthma attacked; 3)The frequency and extent of asthma attacked in the past 12 months; 4) Condition of bronchodilator used when asthma attacked in the past 12 months; 5) Situation of asthma care and emergency in the past 12 months; 6) Treatment other than Western Medicine for asthmas in the past 12 months; 7) Asthma under controlled self-evaluation; 8) Cases of 23 asthma symptoms improved or not in the past 12 months.
Statistical analyses were performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program (version 21) for Windows 8.
The data analysized included baseline, the 1st course, the 2nd course, and the 3rd course. Lung function: FEV1, FEV1/FVC (%), and the number of days for asthma signs, the number of days for using any Western Medicine were tested by Nonparametric tests (Friedman Test), the value of the best efficient course was tested by Nonparametric tests (Wilcoxon Signed Test 2 Related-Samples), description analysis was conducted for the percentage of patients with twenty- three symptoms associated with asthma, the percentage of asthma healthy care, the percentage of bronchodilator used, and the percentage of asthma attack.
There are 1516 person-time with chronic asthma were recruited from 2010 to 2015: 323 in 2010, 391 in 2011, 283 in 2012, 206 in 2013, 164 in 2014, and 149 in 2015, among them 910 person-time completed Tianjiu Therapy (242 in 2010, 169 in 2011, 132 in 2012, 149 in 2013, 117 in 2014, and 101 in 2015), and among the 910 person-time, 179 participants completed one course Tianjiu Therapy, 77 participants completed two courses, 54 participants completed three courses, 52 participants completed four courses, 27 participants completed five courses Tianjiu Therapy, 12 participants completed six courses, there were 401 participants completed at least one course Tianjiu Therapy. Patients would be excluded for the final statistical analysis due to the incomplete data. The cause of incomplete data included incomplete treatments, during treatment period participants illness, asthma exacerbation, losing contact, pregnancy, inability to participate timely, refusing to participate, did not in Hong Kong, or incomplete ACT, questionnaire, lung function test. The participants can be included for the final analysis only when they have seven time points’ data (the 1st course pre and post-as- sessment, the 2nd course pre and post-assessment, the 3rd course pre and post- assessment, the 4th course pre-assessment). Overall, from 2010 to 2015, patients who received three-course Tianjiu Therapy in Sanfu Days were 91.
For the baseline characteristics of the 91 participants, the average age was 50 ± 15.26 (14 to 93) years old, 33% was male, 67% was female; the average onset age was 32.78 ± 22.99 (1 to 93) years old; and the average courses of asthma attacked was 19.98 ± 17.90 (1 to 93) (
In baseline, in the past 12 months, the number of days patients subjected asthma-related symptoms was: 106.49 ± 142.83, and means (± SD) of FEV1 was 1.85 ± 0.94, and the mean ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) was 81.68 ± 19.06. The percentage of participants had been hospitalized and admitted to A & E at least once for an asthma-related event was 22% and 15.4% respectively; the percentage of participants had been clinic visit and persistent prescription was 81.3% and 86.8% respectively; the percentage of participants had been by own medication was 13.2%; and the percentage of participants had not been processed was 9.9%; the frequency of bronchodilator never used in past 12 months was 8.9% (
The incidence of asthma attack in the past 12 months declined from 29.4% in baseline to 26.1% in the 1st course, and 21.6% in the 2nd course, and 22.9% in the 3rd course. After treatment, the efficiency of acute asthma attack has significant difference among the 4 time points (P < 0.05) (
Characteristic | Average | |
---|---|---|
Age―year | 50 ± 15.26 | |
Gender―no. (%) | ||
Male | 33 (36.30) | |
Female | 68 (63.70) | |
Course of disease―year | 19.98 ± 17.90 | |
Onset age | 32.78 ± 22.99 | |
Variable | baseline | The 1st course | The 2nd course | The 3rd course | P value | CI | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acute asthma attack in past year―no. (%) | ||||||||||||
91 (29.4) | 81 (26.1) | 67 (21.6) | 71 (22.9) | 0.000### | 21.563 | |||||||
Days for asthma-related symptoms in last 12 months―(means ± SD) | ||||||||||||
106.49 ± 142.83 | 66.22 ± 110.68 | 42.49 ± 81.51 | 42.31 ± 88.82 | 0.000### | ||||||||
Pulmonary function test | ||||||||||||
1.85 ± 0.94 | 1.73 ± 0.67 | 1.92 ± 1.51 | 1.80 ± 0.98 | 0.233 | ||||||||
81.68 ± 19.06 | 82.76 ± 14.89 | 83.37 ± 14.60 | 79.50 ± 19.17 | 0.221 | ||||||||
Asthma-related health care in last 12 months―no. (%) | ||||||||||||
≥1 Admit to A & E | 20 (22) | 10 (11) | 10 (11) | 6 (6.6) | 0.014# | 10.65 | ||||||
≥1 Hospitalization | 14 (15.4) | 7 (7.7) | 4 (4.4) | 3 (3.3) | 0.010# | 11.452 | ||||||
≥1 Outpatient visit | 74 (81.3) | 44 (48.4) | 49 (54.4) | 50 (55.6) | 0.000### | 24.264 | ||||||
≥1 Prescription | 79 (86.8) | 76 (83.5) | 58 (63.7) | 62 (68.1) | 0.000### | 18.926 | ||||||
≥1 By own medication | 12 (13.2) | 12 (13.2) | 6 (6.6) | 7 (7.7) | .0296# | 3.700 | ||||||
≥1Not to be proceed | 9 (9.9) | 10 (11) | 10 (11) | 8 (8.8) | .0331# | 0.954 | ||||||
The frequency of bronchodilator during asthma attack―no. (%) | ||||||||||||
More than twice per day | 24 (27.3) | 15 (17) | 12 (13.6) | 37 (42) | 63.257 | |||||||
Once to twice per day | 33 (39.3) | 28 (33.3) | 13 (15.5) | 10 (11.9) | ||||||||
Twice to three times per week | 9 (47.4) | 3 (15.8) | 6 (31.6) | 1 (5.3) | ||||||||
Less than once per week | 15 (26.3) | 13 (22.8) | 19 (33.3) | 10 (17.5) | ||||||||
Never | 9 (8.9) | 29 (28.7) | 28 (37.6) | 25 (24.8) | ||||||||
#P < 0.05; #P < 0.01; ###P < 0.001. FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in one second; V1/FVC: Forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity. aAccident and emergency Departments (A & E).
Symptom―no. (%) | |||
---|---|---|---|
1. wind intolerance | 14 (16.3) | 13. lack of strength | 16 (19.8) |
2. susceptible cold | 13 (20.6) | 14. lack of energy after asthma attack | 9 (20.9) |
3. sneeze\running nose before onset | 16 (22.5) | 15. poor appetite | 7 (29.2) |
4. onset during quarter | 6 (8.0) | 16. abdomen fullness | 4 (11.8) |
5. rapid or difficult breathing | 33 (26.4) | 17. sloopy stool | 4 (10.0) |
6. wake up by asthma symptoms | 25 (29.4) | 18. diarrhea after intake of oil food | 2 (6.3) |
7. bluish complexion | 2 (12.5) | 19. fear of cold | 13 (17.6 |
8. spontaneous sweating | 8 (19.5) | 20. soreness and weakness of waist and knees | 15 (20.3) |
9. lassitude | 13 (20.6) | 21. tinnitus | 10 (20.4) |
10. lack of speech | 7 (28.0) | 22. frequent urination/night urination | 6 (10.5) |
11. decline in physical strength | 13 (24.1) | 23. redness, hotness or anxiety | 7 (16.7) |
12. reduction of exercise | 2 (6.9) |
0.001), and improvement in the 2nd course and the 3rd course improved similarly on the incidence of asthma attack in the past 12 months (P > 0.05) (
Days for asthma attacked in past 12 months showed 106.49 ± 142.83 in baseline, and declined to 66.22 ± 110.68 in the 1st course, 42.49 ± 81.51 in the 2nd course, and 42.31 ± 88.82 in the 3rd course, and there was improvement of days for asthma attacked among baseline, the 1st course, the 2nd course and the 3rd course (All P < 0.05) (
After treatment, Western Medicine (bronchodilator) used during asthma attacked was: 1) decreased from 27.3% in baseline to 17% in the 1st course and 13.6% in the 2nd course, but increased to 42% in the 3rd course; 2) decreased from 39.3% in baseline to 33.3% in the 1st course, 15.5% in the 2nd course and 11.9% in the 3rd course once or twice per day; 3) decreased from 47.4% in baseline to 15.8% in the 1st course, 31.6% in the 2nd course and 5.3% in the 3rd course
Baseline & The 1st course | Baseline & The 2nd course | Baseline & The 3rd course | The 1st course & The 2nd course | The 1st course & The 3rd course | The 2nd course & The 3rd course | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
−2.714b | −4.796b | −3.838b | −3.130b | −1.732b | −1.091c | Z value |
0.007## | 0.000### | 0.000### | 0.002## | 0.083 | 0.275 | P value |
Noted: a. By Wilcoxon Signed Test 2 Related-Samples. b. Based on Rank. c. Based on Negative Rank. #P < 0.05; ##P < 0.01; ###P < 0.001.
Baseline & The 1st course | Baseline & The 2nd course | Baseline & The 3rd course | The 1st course & The 2nd course | The 1st course & The 3rd course | The 2nd course & The 3rd course | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
−2.15 | −2.95 | −3.77 | −.77 | −1.12 | −0.11 | Z value |
0.031# | 0.003## | 0.000### | 0.440 | 0.261 | 0.091 | P value |
#P < 0.05; ##P < 0.01; ###P < 0.001.
twice or three times a week; 4) decreased from 26.3% in baseline to 22.8% in the 1st course, 33.3% in the 2nd course and 17.5% in the 3rd course less than once per week; 5) increased from 8.9% in baseline to 28.9% in the 1st course, 37.6% in the 2nd course and 24.8 % in the 3rd course that never happened. There was significant decrease in the rate of western medicine used by asthma participants after treatment, and significant increase in the rate of western medicine never used by asthma participants after treatment (P < 0.05) (
Different processing method during Tianjiu therapy when asthma attacked included: 1) A & E admitting during Tianjiu therapy was 22% at baseline, and decreased to 11% at the 1st course and the 2nd course, and 6.6% at the 3rd course. Obviously, there was a great difference after any course of treatment, and the improvement have statistical difference (P < 0.05) (
2) The result showed significant statistical difference for admit to In-patient Hospital during Tianjiu therapy among the 4 time points (P < 0.05) (
Baseline & The 1st course | Baseline & The 2nd course | Baseline & The 3rd course | The 1st course & The 2nd course | The 1st course & The 3rd course | The 2nd course & The 3rd course | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
−3.232b | −5.093b | −1.722b | −2.105b | −1.378c | −3.182c | Z value |
0.001## | 0.000### | 0.085 | 0.035# | 0.168 | 0.001## | P value |
The percentage was 15.4% at baseline, it was declined to 7.7% in the 1st course (P > 0.05), and 4.4% in the 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 3.3% in the 3rd course (P < 0.01). Although there was no statistical difference between 2nd course and 3rd course (P > 0.05), it still indicated that 2nd course have a tendency of improving better than 3rd course on admitting to In-patient Hospital during Tianjiu therapy on Sanfu days (
3) The frequency of admitting to Integrated Chinese medicine & Western Medicine Clinic was 81.3% at baseline, it declined to 48.4% at 1st course, that
means the 1st course experienced significant improvement (P < 0.001); and 54.4% at 2nd course, the 2nd course experienced deeply improvement (P < 0.01), and 55.6% at the 3rd course, the 3rd course experienced significant improvement (P < 0.001) (
4) The percentage of solving by persistent prescription when asthma attacked was 86.8% at baseline, it was declined to 83.5 at 1st course (P > 0.05), 63.7% at the 2nd course, it means 2nd course experienced significant improvement (P < 0.001), and 68.1% at the 3rd course, it means 3rd course experienced sharply improvement (P<0.01), but there was no statistical difference between 2nd course and 3rd course on solving by persistent when asthma attack (P > 0.05) (
1) Times for admitting to clinic was 18.88 ± 48.404 at baseline, it was decreased to 4.15 ± 12.205 at 1st course (P < 0.001), 5.03 ± 15.093 at 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 0.57 ± 0.519 at 3rd course (P < 0.001), which means that there was significant improvement on times for admitting to clinic (
Baseline & 1st course | Baseline & 2nd course | Baseline & 3rd course | 1st course & 2nd course | 1st course & 3rd course | 2nd course & 3rd course | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Admit to A & E | −2.041d | −2.041d | −2.985b | 0.000c | −1.069d | −1.155b | Z value |
0.41 | 0.41 | 0.003## | 1.000 | 0.285 | 0.248 | P value | |
Admit to hospital | −1.698b | −7.500c | −3.051b | −1.000b | −1.265b | −0.447b | Z value |
0.090 | 0.000### | 0.002## | 0.317 | 0.206 | 0.655 | P value | |
Admit to clinic | −4.423b | −3.429b | −3.773b | −1.121c | −1.333c | −0.169c | Z value |
0.000### | 0.001## | 0.000### | 0.262 | 0.182 | 0.886 | P value | |
Solve by persistent medication | −0.600b | −3.550b | −3.053b | −3.182b | −2.475b | −0.649c | Z value |
0.549 | 0.000### | 0.002## | 0.001## | 0.013# | 0.516 | P value | |
Times of admitting to clinic | −3.781b | −4.158b | −4.211b | −0.028b | −0.543c | −1.432c | Z value |
0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.978 | 0.587 | 0.152 | P value | |
Times of solving by persistent medicine | −4.526b | −4.435b | −5.162b | −0.304b | −4.435b | −0.65c | Z value |
0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.761 | 0.000 | 0.948 | P value | |
Times by own medication | −3.141b | −3.935b | −4.226b | −8.69b | −3.935b | −0.347b | Z value |
0.001 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.385 | 0.000 | 0.729 | P value |
Noted: a. Wilcoxon Signed-rank test. b. based on rank. c. based on negative rank.
2) Times for persistent prescription when asthma attacked was 130.03 ± 93.349 at baseline, it was decreased to 47.63 ± 103.014 at 1st course, 64.08 ± 175.212 at 2nd course, and 16.86 ± 93.963 at 3rd course, which means that there were significant statistical differences (All P < 0.05) (
Variable (Average/Mean ± SD) | baseline | The 1st course | The 2nd course | The 3rd course | P value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Times to A & E | 0.51 ± 1.23 | 0.18 ± 0.53 | 1.24 ± 10.38 | 0.07 ± 0.25 | 0.339 |
Times to hospital | 1.41 ± 10.40 | 0.11 ± 0.41 | 0.09 ± 0.49 | 0.04 ± 0.21 | 0.227 |
Times to clinic | 18.88 ± 48.40 | 4.15 ± 12.20 | 5.03 ± 15.09 | 0.57 ± 0.52 | 0.002## |
Times to persistent | 130.03 ± 93.35 | 47.63 ± 103.01 | 64.08 ± 175.21 | 16.86 ± 93.95 | 0.001## |
Times by own medicine | 20.57 ± 39.46 | 4.63 ± 20.37 | 2.40 ± 14.59 | 1.42 ± 10.48 | 0.000### |
Times of not proceed | 9.84 ± 43.96 | 14.60 ± 115.44 | 3.31 ± 19.46 | 1.29 ± 10.38 | 0.386 |
statistical difference among 1st course, 2nd course and 3rd course (P > 0.05) (
3) Times of solving by own medication was 20.57 ± 39.456 at baseline, it was decreased to 4.63 ± 20.372 at 1st course (P < 0.01), which indicated that the 1st course experienced sharply improvement; 2.40 ± 14.594 at 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 1.42 ± 10.483 at 3rd course (P < 0.001), which indicated that 2nd course and 3rd course experienced significant improvement (
1) The rate of receiving Chinese Herbal Medicine when asthma attacked was 34% at baseline, and it was decreased to 24.2% at 1st course (P > 0.05), 15.2% at 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 23.1% at 3rd course (P < 0.01) (
the 2nd course experienced sharply improvement, and 3rd course experienced significant improvement compared with baseline, but there was no statistical difference between 2nd course and 3rd course (P > 0.05) (
2) The rate of other treatments was 8.8% at baseline, and it was increased to 30.8% at 1st course (P < 0.01), 39.1% at 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 16.5% at 3rd course (P > 0.05) (
―no. (%) | Baseline | The 1st course | The 2nd course | The 3rd course | P value | X² |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Any treatments other than Western Medicine | 42 (46.2) | 38 (41.8) | 38 (41.3) | 30 (33) | 0.305 | 3.62 |
Chinese Herb Medicine | 34 (37.4) | 22 (24.2) | 14 (15.2) | 21 (23.1) | 0.003## | 13.69 |
Acupuncture & Moxibustion | 14 (15.4) | 9 (9.9) | 7 (7.6) | 11 (12.1) | 0.385 | 3.05 |
Others | 8 (8.8) | 28 (30.8) | 36 (39.1) | 15 (16.5) | 0.000### | 24.48 |
other treatment at 1st course and 2nd course, there was no statistical difference at 3rd course compared with baseline (P > 0.05) (
The percentage of asthma participants under controlled was 11.9% at baseline, it was increased to 18.1% at 1st course (P > 0.05), 35.2% at 2nd course (P < 0.001), and 34.8% at 3rd course (P < 0.001) (
The percentage of asthma participants experienced no improvement was 38.6%
Baseline & The 1st course | Baseline & The 2nd course | Baseline & The 3rd course | The 1st course & The 2nd course | The 1st course & The 3rd course | The 2nd course & 3rd course | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese herbal | −2.175b | −3.781b | −2.694b | −2.065b | −1.92b | −1.886c | Z value | |
Medicine | 0.13 | 0.000### | 0.007## | 0.039# | 0.847 | 0.059 | P value | |
Other | −3.182c | −3.920c | −8.16c | −1.155c | −2.030b | −3.550b | Z value | |
treatments | 0.001## | 0.000### | 0.414 | 0.248 | 0.040# | 0.000### | P value | |
Noted: a. By Wilcoxon Signed Test 2 Related-Samples. b. based on rank. c. based on negative rank.
―no. (%) | Baseline | The 1st course | The 2nd course | The 3rd course | P value | X² | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asthma is under controlled | 25 (11.9) | 38 (18.1) | 74 (35.2) | 73 (34.8) | 0.000 | 83.245 | |
No improvement | 27 (38.6) | 19 (27.1) | 11 (15.7) | 13 (18.6) | 0.012 | 10.966 | |
at baseline, it was decreased to 21.7% at 1st course, 15.7% at 2nd course, and 18.6% at 3rd course, and the decline of four time points has a statistical difference (P < 0.05) (
Baseline & the 1st course | Baseline & the 2nd course | Baseline & the 3rd course | The 1st course & the 2ndcourse | The 1st course & the 3rd course | The 2nd course & the 3rd course | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No improvement | −1.414b | −2.828b | −2.858b | −1.633b | −1.279b | −4.71c | P value | |
0.157 | 0.005 | 0.004 | 0.102 | 0.201 | 0.637 | Z value | ||
Under controlled | −1.857b | −6.607b | −6.532b | −5.427b | −5.105b | −0.200c | P value | |
0.063 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.841 | Z value | ||
Noted: a. Wilcoxon Signed-rank test. b. based on rank. c. based on negative rank.
improvement compare 2nd course with 3rd course (P > 0.05) (
1) Percentage of rapid or difficult breathing was 32.4% at baseline, it was decreased to 18.8% at 1st course, 25.8% at 2nd course, 23.0% at 3rd course, there were statistical difference among the baseline and the 3 courses (P < 0.05) (
2) The percentage of wake up by asthma symptoms was 39.5% at baseline, it was decreased to 17.5% at 1st course, 22.0% at 2nd course, 20.9% at 3rd course, the proportions of 3 courses after treatment reduced significantly compared with baseline (P < 0.05) (
Symptoms scale | Baseline | The 1st course | The 2nd course | The 3rd course | P value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Detail symptoms―no. (%) | |||||
1 Wind intolerance | 38 (25.3) | 29 (19.3) | 41 (27.3) | 42 (28.0) | 0.19 |
2 Susceptible cold | 43 (31.9) | 26 (19.5) | 32 (23.7) | 34 (25.2) | 0.072 |
3 Sneeze\running nose before onset | 47 (26.3) | 38 (21.2) | 42 (23.5) | 52 (29.1) | 0.182 |
4 Onset during quarter | 58 (25.6) | 49 (21.6) | 64 (28.2) | 56 (24.7) | 0.146 |
5 Rapid or difficult breathing | 69 (32.4) | 40 (18.8) | 55 (25.8) | 49 (23.0) | 0.000 |
6 Wake up by asthma symptoms | 70 (39.5) | 31 (17.5) | 39 (22.0) | 37 (20.9) | 0.000 |
7 Bluish complexion | 13 (31.0) | 7 (16.7) | 9 (21.4) | 13 (31.0) | 0.406 |
8 Spontaneous sweating | 27 (32.9) | 10 (12.2) | 23 (28.0) | 22 (26.8) | 0.017 |
9 Lassitude | 53 (38.7) | 25 (18.2) | 26 (19.0) | 33 (24.1) | 0.000 |
10 Lack of speech | 27 (34.2) | 16 (20.3) | 18 (22.8) | 18 (22.8) | 0.195 |
11 Decline in physical strength | 39 (29.8) | 26 (19.8) | 29 (22.1) | 37 (28.2) | 0.135 |
12 Reduction of exercise | 19 (26.0) | 8 (11.0) | 24 (32.9) | 22 (30.1) | 0.015 |
13 Lack of strength | 58 (33.7) | 37 (21.5) | 36 (20.9) | 41 (23.8) | 0.003 |
14 Lack of energy after asthma attack | 25 (26.9) | 15 (16.1) | 26 (28.0) | 27 (29.0) | 0.147 |
15 Poor appetite | 15 (29.4) | 10 (19.6) | 13 (25.5) | 13 (25.5) | 0.762 |
16 Abdomen fullness | 21 (24.1) | 16 (18.4) | 26 (29.9) | 24 (27.6) | 0.33 |
17 Sloopy stool | 15 (20.8) | 15 (20.8) | 21 (29.2) | 21 (29.2) | 0.477 |
18 Diarrhea after intake of oil food | 10 (13.5) | 16 (21.6) | 21 (28.4) | 27 (36.5) | 0.014 |
19 Fear of cold | 38 (25.3) | 34 (22.7) | 37 (24.7) | 41 (27.3) | 0.769 |
20 Soreness and weakness of waist and knees | 48 (25.7) | 41 (21.9) | 53 (28.3) | 45 (24.1) | 0.337 |
21 Tinnitus | 31 (29.2) | 25 (23.6) | 27 (25.5) | 23 (21.7) | 0.623 |
22 Frequent urination/night urination | 30 (26.5) | 21 (18.6) | 35 (31.0) | 27 (23.9) | 0.153 |
23 Redness, hotness or anxiety | 24 (25.0) | 18 (18.8) | 27 (28.1) | 27 (28.1) | 0.383 |
but the improvements among 1st course, 2nd course and the 3rd course were similar (P > 0.05) (
3) The percentage of spontaneous sweating was 32.9% at baseline, it was declined to 12.2% at 1st course, 28.0% at 2nd course, 26.8% at 3rd course, the proportion of 3 courses after treatment compared with baseline showed reduce significantly (P < 0.05) (
4) The percentage of lassitude was 38.7% at baseline, decreased to 18.2% at 1st course, 19.0% at 2nd course, 24.1% at 3rd course, the proportion of 3 courses compared with baseline were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) (
Baseline & the 1st course | Baseline & the 2nd course | Baseline & the 3rd course | The 1st course & the 2nd course | The 1st course & the 3rd course | The 2nd course & the 3rd course | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rapid or difficult breathing | −4.143b | −2.160b | −3.015b | −2.402c | −1.521c | −1.061b | Z value |
0.000### | 0.031# | 0.003## | 0.016# | 0.128 | 0.289 | P value | |
Wake up by asthma symptoms | −5.571b | −4.522b | −5.032b | −1.333b | −1.029c | −0.408b | Z value |
0.000### | 0.000### | 0.000### | 0.182 | 0.303 | 0.683 | P value | |
Spontaneous sweating | −3.545b | −0.853b | −1.000b | −2.711c | −2.588c | −0.200b | Z value |
0.000### | 0.394 | 0.317 | 0.007## | 0.011# | 0.841 | P value | |
Lassitude | −4.320b | −4.025b | −3.244b | −1.92c | −1.461c | −1.135c | Z value |
0.000### | 0.000### | 0.001## | 0.847 | 0.144 | 0.178 | P value | |
Reduce of exercise | −2.294b | −0.898c | −0.539c | −3.266c | −2.746c | −0.343b | Z value |
0.022# | 0.369 | 0.59 | 0.001## | 0.006## | 0.732 | P value | |
Lack of strength | −3.452b | −3.667b | −2.874b | −0.200b | −0.707c | −0.898c | Z value |
0.001## | 0.000### | 0.004## | 0.841 | 0.48 | 0.369 | P value | |
Diarrhea after intake of oily food | −1.342b | −2.200b | −3.545b | −1.147b | −2.200b | −1.225b | Z value |
0.18 | 0.028# | 0.000### | 0.251 | 0.028# | 0.221 | P value |
Noted: a. Wilcoxon Signed-rank test. b. base on rank. c. base on negative rank.
3rd course (
5) The percentage of reduction of exercise was decreased from 26.0% at baseline to 11.0% at 1st course, and increased to 32.9% at 2nd course, 30.1% at 3rd
course (
6) The percentage of lack of strength was declined from 33.7% at baseline to 21.5% at 1st course, 20.9% at 2nd course, 23.8% at 3rd course, the proportions of 4 time points were statistical difference (P < 0.05) (
7) The percentage of diarrhea after intake of oil food was 13.5% at baseline, it was increased to 21.6% at the 1st course, 28.4% at the 2nd course, 36.5% at the 3rd course, the improvements with proportion have statistical difference (All P < 0.05) (
Average of FEV1 was 1.85 ± 0.94 at baseline, it was decreased to 1.73 ± 0.64 at 1st course, 1.73 ± 0.64 at 2nd course, increased to 1.92 ± 1.51 at 3rd course (All P > 0.05) (
after any course of FEV1 for asthma participants; The percentage of FEV1/FVC(×100) was 81.68 ± 19.06 in baseline, there were increased to 82.76 ± 14.89 at 1st course, 83.37 ± 14.6 at 2nd course, and declined to 79.50 ± 19.17 at 3rd course (All P > 0.05) (
The average total scores of participants was 19.55 ± 4.87 at baseline, and increased to 20.55 ± 1.37 at 1st course, 20.91 ± 3.48 at 2nd course, and 21.00 ± 2.93 at 3rd course, there was no statistical difference among the results (All P > 0.05)
(
In the first previous study (HKCTR-1128), Tianjiu Therapy has shown substantial improvements in the medication need after treatment, included the number of symptoms which frequency appeared in asthma patients, and the number of days with asthma-related symptoms. There was nothing different between Tianjiu Therapy group and placebo group after the 3rd treatment immediately, but