Clinical Research To Treat Allergic Rhinitis With Catgut Implantation At Acupoints

Objective:To evaluate therapeutic effects and safety of Catgut Implantation At Acupoint compared with Triamcinnone Acetonide Nasal Spray in patients with allergic rhinitis(AR).Methods:Sixty-four patients with AR were randomly divided into treatment group (32cases) and control group (32cases). The treatment group received Catgut Implantation At Acupoint for four weeks, while the control group were treated with Triamcinnone Acetonide Nasal Spray for four weeks. The patients were followed-up for about2months after treatment. Nasal symptoms, physical signs, systemic symptoms and adverse effects of both groups were collected and recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the significance of therapeutic effects and safety.Result:There were no statistical difference on gender, age, patient condition and systemic symptom between the treatment and control groups prior to treatment (base line)(P>0.05). During the first two weeks, the effective rates were46.88%in the treatment group and84.38%in the control group with P<0.05as determined by the Mann-Whitney test. By the end of treatment, the effective rates were93.75%in the treatment group and96.88%in the control group with no statistical difference (P>0.05). However, two months after treatment, the recurrence rate were15.63%and43.75%for the treatment and control groups, respectively (P<0.05). Furthermore, comparison of the symptom scores before or after two month therapy resulted in P<0.05between the treatment and control groups, indicating that the systemic symptoms had ameliorated with different degrees. During the two months follow-up visiting, the statistics of the symptom scores are P<0.05, indicating that the treatment group is superior to the control group in ameliorating systemic symptoms. The adverse effects were6.25%and3.125%for the trial and control group, respectively. There was no statistical differences (P>0.05) via Pearson χ2Conclusion:There was no significant difference in effective rates between the two groups at the end of treatment. However, the recurrence rate is significantly lower at two month follow-up visiting, and systemic symptoms were dramatically improved with Catgut Implantation At Acupoint treatment.The safety evaluation of Catgut Implantation At Acupoint was grade two.