Clinical Observation on Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation Training for Dysphagia after Stroke—A Multi-centered Random-controlled Trial

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture plus rehabilitation training for dysphagia after stroke.Methods Totally 229 cases were randomized into three groups,treatment group Ⅰ (74 cases),treatment group Ⅱ (75 cases),and the control group (80 cases).The treatment group Ⅰ was treated with acupuncture,the treatment group Ⅱ with acupuncture and rehabilitation training,and the control group with rehabilitation training.Five times of treatment were applied every week,4 weeks in succession.After treatment for four weeks,the effect was evaluated according to the TCM swallowing assessment,swallowing test,and SWAL-QOL of the three groups.Results The total effective rate of TCM swallowing assessment was 83.56% in the treatment group Ⅰ,74.67% in the treatment group Ⅱ,and 64.00% in the control group with significant difference among them (P0.01).The total effective rate of swallowing test was 83.56% in the treatment group Ⅰ,89.33% in the treatment group Ⅱ,and 66.67% in the control group with significant difference among the three (P0.01).The scores of SWAL-QOL of three groups were all improved (P0.01),compared with the control group,the difference in treatment group Ⅰ and Ⅱ was also significant after treatment (P0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture plus rehabilitation training is effective for dysphagia after stroke and it is a safe treatment.