Clinical study on treatment of the earthquake-caused post-traumatic stress disorder by cognitive-behavior therapy and acupoint stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: To study the curative effect of acupoint stimulation on the earthquake-caused post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: The 91 PTSD patients in Wenchuan hit by a strong earthquake were randomly divided into a control group of 24 cases treated by the cognitive-behavior therapy, and a treatment group of 67 cases treated by both cognitive-behavior therapy and acupoint stimulation. The scores were evaluated according to Chinese version of the incident effect scale revised (IES-R) and the self-compiled questionnaire for the major post-traumatic psychological condition, and the curative effect was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The total scores of IES-R, the scores of all factors and the total scores of the questionnaire in the two groups after treatment were much lower than those before treatment (P < 0.01). The comparison of reduction in the factor scores between the two groups showed that the curative effect in the treatment group was better that of in the control group. CONCLUSION: The acupoint stimulation is effective for the PTSD patients, with better results than that of cognitive-behavior therapy used alone.