Clinical effect of electroacupuncture on rheumatoid arthritis with deficiency of Liver and kidney Yin and its influence on joint function

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of electro-acupuncture in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis（ RA） of yin-deficiency of Liver and Kidney and its influence to joint function. METHODS: 134 cases of RA were randomly divided into the study group and the control group,with 67 cases in each group. The control group was treated with Methotrexate and Leflunomide; on which basis,the study group was also treated with electro-acupuncture. The two groups were treated continuously for four months. The clinical efficacy after the treatment,the improvement of clinical symptoms,DAS28,joint function and serum RA related factors before and after the treatment were compared between the two groups,and the incidence of adverse reactions was recorded. RESULTS: After the treatment,the total effective rate of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group（ P ＜ 0. 05）. The duration of morning stiffness was significantly shortened,the number of joint tenderness,tenderness index,joint swelling and swelling index were significantly reduced or decreased after the treatment compared to those before the treatment in the two groups,and the improvements in the study group were more significant（ P ＜ 0. 05,P ＜ 0. 01）. DAS28 scores were greatly decreased after the treatment in the two groups,and the decrease in the study group was more significant（ P ＜ 0. 01）. The Lysholm scores were significantly increased after the treatment in the two groups,and the increase in the study group was more significant（ P ＜ 0. 01）. The serum levels of CRP,RF and ESR were significantly decreased after the treatment in the two groups,and the study group was significantly lower than the control group（ P ＜ 0. 01）. The incidence of total adverse reactions in the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group（ P ＜ 0. 05）. CONCLUSION: Electro-acupuncture can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients with RA of yin-deficiency of Liver and Kidney,it can reduce the levels of RA related factors and disease activity index,improve the joint function of the patients and improve clinical efficacy. The therapy is safe and effective,which is recommend to use in clinic.