Efficacy of acupuncture at ghost points combined with fluoxetine in treating depression: A randomized study

Table 1 Comparison of general information of the two groups of patients, n (%)

Factors	Acupuncture group (n = 80)	Fluoxetine group (n = 80)	t/χ2	P value
Age (yr)	47.96.5	46.3 ± 7.2	1.475	0.142
Years of education (yr)	7.9 ± 2.2	8.1 ± 2.4	-0.549	0.583
HAMD score (points)	20.13 ± 2.20	19.75 ± 2.38	1.049	0.296
SDS score (points)	61.84 ± 4.55	60.63 ± 4.92	1.615	0.108
Gender			1.047	0.306
Male	22 (27.50)	28 (35.00)
Female	58 (72.50)	52 (65.00)
Smoking			1.477	0.224
Yes	12 (15.00)	18 (22.50)
No	68 (85.00)	62 (77.50)
Drinking			1.653	0.199
Yes	16 (20.00)	10 (12.50)
No	64 (80.00)	70 (87.50)
Hypertension			1.283	0.257
Yes	35 (43.75)	28 (35.00)
No	45 (56.25)	52 (65.00)
Diabetes			1.200	0.273
Yes	17 (21.25)	23 (28.75)
No	63 (78.75)	57 (71.25)
Hyperlipidemia			2.209	0.137
Yes	15 (18.75)	23 (28.75)
No	65 (81.25)	57 (71.25)

HAMD: Hamilton depression rating scale.

Table 2 Comparison of Hamilton depression rating scale scores and self-rating depression scale scores between the two groups (mean ± SD, scores)

Group	n	HAMD score (points)			SDS score (points)
		Before treatment	4 wk of treatment	8 wk of treatment	Before treatment	4 wk of treatment	8 wk of treatment
Acupuncture group	80	20.13 ± 2.20	16.60 ± 2.85a	13.64 ± 2.75a	61.84 ± 4.55	56.92 ± 5.10a	51.14 ± 6.12a
Fluoxetine group	80	19.75 ± 2.38	17.21 ± 2.91a	15.20 ± 2.48a	60.63 ± 4.92	57.88 ± 5.53a	54.63 ± 5.58a
t value		1.049	-1.340	-3.768	1.615	-1.141	-3.769
P value		0.296	0.182	0.000	0.108	0.255	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs this group before treatment.

HAMD: Hamilton depression rating scale; SDS: Self-rating depression scale.

Table 3 Comparison of fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations values between the two groups of patients (mean ± SD)

Acupuncture group-fluoxetine group (fALFF difference)	MNI coordinates (mm)			Voxel	t value
	X	Y	Z
Before treatment
Cingulate back	-3	-11	13	12	-0.431
Left precuneus	-4	-8	-4	14	1.102
Middle occipital gyrus	-9	6	5	8	1.339
Left suboccipital back	-14	-21	-9	17	1.482
Lower forehead of right frame	14	12	-2	19	1.773
Right insula	15	18	-5	16	1.295
Right hippocampus	11	-1	13	14	1.374
Post treatment
Cingulate back	14	18	-11	21	2.23
Left precuneus	5	13	6	19	1.748
Middle occipital gyrus	12	38	8	24	2.548
Left suboccipital back	7	14	11	32	3.251
Lower forehead of right frame	-18	-16	9	37	3.926
Right insula	-17	-13	14	15	1.554
Right hippocampus	-13	12	-11	9	0.983

fALFF: Fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations.

Table 4 Comparison of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores between the two groups of patients (mean ± SD, scores)

Group	n	TCM syndrome points		t value	P value
		Before treatment	Post treatment
Acupuncture group	80	21.73 ± 4.20	7.96 ± 1.55	27.511	0.000
Fluoxetine group	80	20.68 ± 4.47	10.20 ± 2.39	18.493	0.000
t value		1.531	-7.033
P value		0.128	0.000

TCM: Traditional Chinese medicine.

Table 5 Comparison of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone, Cor and corticotropin-releasing hormone levels before and after treatment in the two groups

Group	n	ACTH (ng/L)		Cor (ng/L)		CRH (ng/L)
		Before treatment	8 wk of treatment	Before treatment	8 wk of treatment	Before-treatment	8 wk of treatment
Acupuncture group	80	38.74 ± 7.20	28.64 ± 5.51a	122.64 ± 14.81	98.13 ± 11.77a	132.85 ± 17.20	112.69 ± 12.54a
Fluoxetine group	80	40.01 ± 8.14	31.47 ± 7.08a	120.28 ± 16.57	105.25 ± 13.60a	130.51 ± 15.83	116.11 ± 14.38a
t value		-1.045	-2.821	0.950	-3.541	0.895	-1.603
P value		0.297	0.005	0.344	0.001	0.372	0.111

^aP < 0.05 vs this group before treatment.

ACTH: Adrenocorticotropic hormone; CRH: Corticotropin-releasing hormone.

Table 6 Comparison of clinical efficacy between the two groups of patients, n (%)

Group	n	Markedly effective	Efficient	Invalid
Acupuncture group	80	41 (51.25)	33 (41.25)	6 (7.50)
Fluoxetine group	80	29 (36.25)	40 (50.00)	11 (13.75)
Z		-2.041
P value		0.041

Table 7 Comparison of the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups of patients, n (%)

Group	n	Insomnia	Nausea	Irritable	Anxiety	Tremor	Complication rate
Acupuncture group	80	1	1	0	2	0	4 (5.00)
Fluoxetine group	80	4	2	2	4	1	13 (16.25)
χ2							5.331
P value							0.021