Effect of Depth of Electroacupuncture on the IPSS of Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Hongwei Yuan; Na Wei; Yanfeng Li; Lifeng Yu; Yunshu Zhang; Wei Lin Ong; Ni Bai; Mengxi Wang; Yuting Fu; Yunxia Liu

doi:10.1155/2019/1439141

Effect of Depth of Electroacupuncture on the IPSS of Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Dec 12:2019:1439141. doi: 10.1155/2019/1439141. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Hongwei Yuan¹, Na Wei², Yanfeng Li³, Lifeng Yu¹, Yunshu Zhang¹, Wei Lin Ong¹, Ni Bai¹, Mengxi Wang¹, Yuting Fu¹, Yunxia Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
² Department of Function, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.
³ Department of Urology, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) on Ciliao (BL 32) and Zhongliao (BL 33) acupoints at different depths for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) through a single-blind randomized controlled trial. All 120 patients diagnosed with BPH were randomly allocated to an experimental group (deep insertion group, DI group, n = 60) and control group (shallow insertion group, SI group, n = 60) 3 times a week for 4 weeks. The observed results included the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Quality of Life score (QOL), maximum urine flow rate (Qmax), and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR). After treatment, at both depths, the BPH symptoms of patients were improved by EA. There were significant differences between the IPSS, QOL, and the effective rate of the experimental group and the control group (P < 0.05). Although the observed PVR and Qmax were better than those before treatment, there was no statistical significance between two groups (P > 0.05). Thus, EA with deep insertion can effectively improve the patients' urinary symptoms and quality of life, and it will be suitable for clinical application.