Randomized Controlled Trial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 6, 2022; 10(34): 12587-12593
Published online Dec 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i34.12587
Clinical study on tri-tongue acupuncture combined with low-frequency electrical stimulation for treating post-stroke dysarthria
Bin Man, Wei-Wei Li, Jun-Feng Xu, Qian Wang
Bin Man, Wei-Wei Li, Jun-Feng Xu, Qian Wang, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin 300381, China
Author contributions: Man B proposed the research topics, designed the research protocols, and wrote the manuscript; Li WW participated in experimental data analysis; Xu JF revised key theories and other major elements of the manuscript; and Wang Q participated in the data collection; all authors reviewed and approved the final version to be published.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Institutional Review Board.
Clinical trial registration statement: Although our study is not registered at clinical trial registry, we ensure the rights and interests of subjects according to the provisions of the relevant ethics committee.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no potential conflicts of interest related to this study.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bin Man, MBChB, Attending Doctor, Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, No. 88 Changling Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin 300381, China. binmanbin@163.com
Received: September 6, 2022
Peer-review started: September 6, 2022
First decision: October 11, 2022
Revised: October 26, 2022
Accepted: October 31, 2022
Article in press: October 31, 2022
Published online: December 6, 2022
Processing time: 87 Days and 2.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Few studies have investigated low-frequency electrical stimulation combined with tri-tongue acupuncture for the treatment of post-stroke dysarthria. This randomized clinical study assessed the correlation between the clinical efficacy of low-frequency electrical stimulation combined with tri-tongue acupuncture in patients with post-stroke dysarthria.

AIM

To investigate the clinical effects of tri-tongue acupuncture combined with low-frequency electrical stimulation for treating post-stroke dysarthria.

METHODS

Ninety patients with post-stroke dysarthria, who were admitted to our hospital from December 2019 to June 2021, were selected and equally divided into two groups (n = 45/group) according to the random number table method. Tri-tongue acupuncture was administered in the control group. The treatment group received both tri-tongue acupuncture and low-frequency electrical stimulation. The clinical efficacy, Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) score, general quality of life inventory (GQOLI-74) score, Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment score, and speech function grades were compared and analyzed between both groups.

RESULTS

The overall efficacy in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Before treatment, the WAB, Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, or GQOLI-74 scores (P > 0.05) did not differ between the groups. After therapy, the WAB, Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, and GQOLI-74 scores in both groups increased significantly (P < 0.05), and the treatment group exhibited a significantly greater increase than that of the controls (P < 0.05). Moreover, the classification of speech function did not differ between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05), whereas significant improvements were observed in both groups after treatment (P < 0.05). The degree of improvement in the treatment group was greater than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Low-frequency electrical stimulation, in conjunction with tri-tongue acupuncture, exhibits a good clinical effect on post-stroke dysarthria.

Keywords: Low-frequency pulse electrotherapy; Tri-tongue acupuncture; Dysarthria after stroke; Clinical research

Core Tip: We used low-frequency pulsed electrical stimulation combined with tri-tongue acupuncture to treat post-stroke dysarthria. Low-frequency electrical stimulation in conjunction with tri-tongue acupuncture has a good clinical effect on dysarthria after stroke, not only improving clinical outcomes but also improving patients' speech function and quality of life.