Treatment of heroinism with acupuncture at points of the Du Channel

• Published in: Journal of traditional Chinese medicine Vol. 25; no. 3; p. 166
• Main Authors: Zeng, Xiangling, Lei, Longming, Lu, Yonghong, Wang, Zetao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China 01.09.2005
• Subjects: Acupuncture Points; Acupuncture Therapy - methods; Adult; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Heroin Dependence - therapy; Humans; Male; Meridians; Methadone - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0255-2922

To observe the effectiveness of acupuncture at points of the Du Channel in treating heroinism, seventy patients with heroinism were randomly divided into a treatment group (n= 35) and a control group (n=35). A 10-day decrescendo therapy of methadone and acupuncture at points of the Du Channel were adopted in the treatment group, while the 10-day decrescendo therapy of methadone was simply performed in the control group. The scoring and grading of the abstinence symptoms were recorded and evaluated for both groups. 31 cases in the treatment group and 26 cases in the control group completed the entire treatment process, and a significant difference (P<0.01) in scores of abstinence symptoms before and after treatment was noticed in the two groups. The obvious difference in scores of abstinence symptoms on the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth day in the treatment group was superior to those in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Particularly for such symptoms as perspiration, anxiety and pain in the muscle and bone, the result in the treatment group was much better than that in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Acupuncture at points of the Du Channel has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on abstinence symptoms of heroinism, which can effectively help alleviate the abstinence symptoms.