Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2024; 12(17): 3019-3026
Published online Jun 16, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i17.3019
Efficacy of acupoint injection in the treatment of chronic eczema and its influence on peripheral blood T cells
Hui-Hui Gan, Gao Yang, Ting-Ting Shen
Hui-Hui Gan, Gao Yang, Ting-Ting Shen, Department of Dermatology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
Author contributions: Gan HH designed and performed the research and wrote the paper; Shen TT designed the research and supervised the report; Yang G supervised the report and provided clinical advice.
Supported by Jinshan District Medical and Health Science and Technology Innovation Funding Project, No. 2021-3-07.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University (Approval No. JIEC 2022-S22).
Informed consent statement: All the study subjects provided informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
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: Ting-Ting Shen, MM, Doctor, Department of Dermatology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, No. 1508 Longhang Road, Jinshan District, Shanghai 201508, China. circlefish2020@163.com
Received: February 29, 2024
Revised: April 17, 2024
Accepted: April 19, 2024
Published online: June 16, 2024
Processing time: 96 Days and 7.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Chronic eczema significantly impacts daily life, social interactions, and quality of life; however, no curative treatment has been identified.

AIM

To determine the clinical efficacy of acupoint injection for chronic eczema and its influence on peripheral blood T cells.

METHODS

Eighty patients with chronic eczema treated at our hospital between June 2022 and March 2023 were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 40), which received conventional Western medicine treatment, or an observation group (n = 40), which received routine Western medicine treatment plus acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide. Response and adverse reaction rates, as well as differences in the levels of serum cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 before and after treatment were investigated.

RESULTS

No difference in overall response rates were found between the observation and control groups (100% vs 90%, respectively; P > 0.05); however, the observation group had a higher marked response rate than the control group (87.5% vs 52.5%; P < 0.05). Both groups had decreased Eczema Area and Severity Index scores and increased pruritus after treatment (P < 0.05), particularly in the observation group (P < 0.05). The observation group had an adverse reaction rate of 2.5% (1/40), which did not differ significantly from that of the control group (P > 0.05). The observation group exhibited higher post-treatment INF-γ and IL-2 but lower IL-4 levels than the control group (P < 0.05); however, no significant inter-group difference was observed in post-treatment IL-10 levels (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide is safe and effective in treating chronic eczema. Its therapeutic mechanism is related to the regulation of peripheral blood T cell levels, inhibition of inflammatory reactions, and mitigation of immune imbalance.

Keywords: Eczema; Acupoint injection; T cells; Immune imbalance

Core Tip: No cure has been found for chronic eczema. In this study, patients with eczema were treated with either routine Western medicine treatment or routine Western medicine treatment plus acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide. The clinical efficacy of the two treatment regimens was validated based on therapeutic efficacy, incidence of adverse reactions, and changes in serum cytokine INF-γ and IL-2/4/10 levels before and after treatment. Acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide was found safe and effective in treating chronic eczema, and its therapeutic mechanism is related to regulating peripheral blood T cell levels, inhibiting inflammatory reactions, and regulating immune imbalance.