Multicenter randomized controlled clinical study on rheumatoid arthritis with f moxibustion

Objective We observed the clinical effects of moxibustion on patients with active rheumatoid arthritis to investigate the relationship between the effects and different methods or courses.Methods A randomized,controlled and single blind trial was performed.180 cases were involved in this trial,while 168 finished the whole research.All patients were divided into ginger moxibustion group,mild moxibustion group and Tripterygium wilfordii group randomly.Each group was treated for 60 days.The indicators,such as joint pain,swelling and tenderness were observed,RF,ESR and CRP were detected before the experiment,30 days after the experiment and 60 days after the experiment to compare the changes.Results After moxibustion treatment,joint pain,swelling,tenderness and laboratory indexes have been significantly improved(P0.05 or P0.01).The effects after 60 days' treatment were significantly better than that after 30 days'(P0.05 or P0.01).The effects of ginger moxibustion group were better than mild moxibustion group on symptom improvement(P0.05 or P0.01).But there was no had no significant difference on laboratory indexes between the two groups(P0.05).Conclusion The moxibustion could significantly improve the clinical symptoms and signs in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis,and the effects are closely related with moxibustion course.