Therapeutic Observation on Acupuncture Combined with Medication for Post-stroke Depression

Objective To observe the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture combined with medication in treating post-stroke depression.Method Sixty-four post-stoke depression patients were randomized into a treatment group and a control group,32 each.The treatment group was intervened by acupuncture plus Chinese medication,and the control group was by Fluoxetine hydrochloride.Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD),Modified Barthel Index(MBI),symptom score of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),and therapeutic efficacy were observed and compared before and after treatment in the two groups.Result The total effective rate was 87.5% in the treatment group versus 75.0% in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).The two groups both had significant changes in comparing TCM symptom score,neural function defect score,HAMD,and MBI scores after treatment(P0.05).Compared to the control group,the treatment group had marked differences in TCM symptom score,neural function defect score,HAMD and MBI scores after treatment(P0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture combined with medication is an effective method in treating post-stroke depression.