Acupuncture Effective in Pneumonia-Induced Sepsis

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Acupuncture improves drug outcomes in pneumonia-induced sepsis in China. It increases the efficacy of drug therapy for the treatment of sepsis due to pneumonia. Researchers from Guang’anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Science combined electroacupuncture with drug therapy. Patients receiving both drug therapy and electroacupuncture had superior patient outcomes compared with patients receiving drug therapy along. The researchers conclude that the addition of acupuncture to a drug treatment regimen increases the total effectiveness rate, assists in the regulation of immune system functions, increases anti-febrile actions, and alleviates inflammatory reactions.

The implications of this investigation are that an integrative medicine approach to infectious disease has the potential to save lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that sepsis “affects more than 30 million people worldwide every year, potentially leading to 6 million deaths.” [2]

Acupuncture And Drug Therapy
For both groups, patients received routine care and anti-infective drugs. The anti-infective therapy contains 400 mg of a moxifloxacin hydrochloride injection (an antibiotic) and 250 ml of a 5% glucose solution. The two medicines were delivered by intravenous fluid drips for a total of 90 minutes.

The acupoints used for the treatment group included the following:

  • LI4 (Hegu)
  • LI11 (Quchi)

Results
The results indicate that acupuncture combined with conventional anti-infective therapy into an integrated treatment protocol is more effective than using routine care and anti-infective drugs without acupuncture. Wang et al. conclude that acupuncture is safe and effective for the treatment of pneumonia-induced sepsis.

References:
1. Wang S, Li LN, Qi WS. Curative Effect of Electroacupuncture of Large Intestine Meridian YUAN Point Combined with HE-sea Point in Treating Sepsis Patients Caused by Pneumonia and the Impact on Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway [J]. Practical Journal of Cardio-cerebral Pulmonary Vascular Disease, 2018, 26(8): 66-69.
2. who.int/sepsis/en/. Sepsis, World Health Organization. 3-31-2020.

From Health CMi