Enhancing Respiratory Symptoms: The Impact of Acupoint Application Combined with Back Tapping in Patients with Expectoration and Wheezing.

BACKGROUND: Expectoration and wheezing are prevalent symptoms of respiratory diseases. Acupoint application and back tapping have shown effectiveness in alleviating cough, wheezing, and associated symptoms. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the influence of combining acupoint application with back tapping in patients experiencing expectoration and wheezing. DESIGN: A retrospective study design was employed. SETTING: The study was conducted at Lujiang County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 96 patients presenting with expectoration and wheezing between January 2019 and June 2021 were randomly allocated into an observation group (n=48) and a control group (n=48). INTERVENTIONS: The control group received an acupoint application using white mustard seed. In contrast, the observation group received additional back-tapping along meridians. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Clinical efficacy; (2) traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores; (3) levels of inflammatory factors; (4) blood gas analysis indexes; (5) pulmonary function indexes; and (6) quality of life was assessed. RESULTS: Following treatment, the observation group exhibited superior clinical efficacy (P < .05), reduced traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores for cough, expectoration, and wheezing (P < .05), more pronounced improvements in inflammatory factor levels (P < .05), blood gas analysis indexes (P < .05), pulmonary function indexes (P < .05), and higher quality of life (P < .05) compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Combining acupoint application with back tapping effectively alleviated symptoms and inflammatory responses, improved blood gas and pulmonary function, and enhanced the quality of life in patients experiencing expectoration and wheezing.