Concomitant acupoint therapy with hyperthermia and Chinese traditional herb improved lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Acupuncture, hyperthermia and traditional Chinese herb are used for control of many symptoms. In this study, we explored a novel therapeutic approach for achieving a long-term and potent therapeutic effect in patients with COPD at stable stage. A total of 120 patients with stable COPD were received concomitant acupoint sticking therapy with both hyperthermia and Chinese herb at BL13 (feishu) and BL20 (pishu) acupoints respectively. Patients were treated with acupoint alone and combined acupoint treatments with hyperthermia or Chinese herb were used as controls. After 6 and 12 weeks’ post-initial treatment, lung function, 6 minute walk distance test (6MWT), the modified medical research council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale, COPD assessment test (CAT) were assessed. We observed moderately improved pulmonary function among all groups of patients, with increased percentage of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of predicted (FEV1% predicted) and percentage of forced vital capacity (FVC) of predicted (FVC% predicted). The improved pulmonary function in all treated groups were also associated with significantly increased 6-minute walk test score (6MWT) and symptom control (P<0.01). In addition, lung function was more greatly improved in patients received concomitant acupoint therapy with both hyperthermia and Chinese herb than the patients received concomitant acupoint treatment with hyperthermia or Chinese herb (P<0.01). In contrast, the patients received acupoint therapy alone achieved the lowest improvement in lung function compared to that of pre-treatment. Concomitant acupoint therapy with both hyperthermia and Chinese herb has additive and long-term therapeutic effects on COPD at stable stage.