Efficacy and safety of wet cupping in the management of Gout: An open labeled, randomized standard control study

Abstract

Background

The most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis is Gouty arthritis. Wet cupping, a traditional regimental therapy of Greco-Arab and Chinese medicine, has been proven an effective and safe alternative treatment for multiple disorders especially in musculoskeletal ailments.

Aims and objectives

To study the efficacy and safety of wet cupping in Gouty arthritis.

Methods

In an open-labeled, randomized and standard controlled trial 60 patients of gout fulfilling the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated in test group (n=30) receiving wet cupping and the control group (n=30) receiving allopurinol for a period of 60 days. Patients were assessed at every 15th day for subjective parameters/symptoms, whereas for objective parameters (serum uric acid, inflammatory markers) assessment was done at 0th day and on 61st day of the study protocol. The data was analyzed statistically using student t-test to obtain the results.

Results

Both the test and control groups showed a significant improvement in subjective parameters (p<0.001). Serum uric acid gets significantly improved after the treatment (p<0.001) in both the groups, however among inflammatory markers, better improvement in ESR was seen in test group (p< 0.05) than control group (p=0.37) but there was no considerable improvement in CRP either in test or control group. All the safety parameters (LFT, KFT) were found to remain undisturbed after completion of study protocol.

Conclusion

Wet cupping has a considerable impact in improving the symptoms of gout and serum uric acid levels. It is much safer and could prove a better alternative for gout management.