Effects of Bo's abdominal acupuncture on post-stroke fatigue: A pilot study

Background: Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a frequently reported complication of stroke. The current drugs play a limited effect on PSF. Bo's abdominal acupuncture (BAA) has been used for decades to treat stroke in China, however, few studies have used the western clinical evaluation approach to verify the efficacy of BAA. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of BAA on PSF. Methods: Seventy stroke patients with fatigue were randomly allocated into the BAA group (n=35) or the control group (n=35). Patients in the control group received conventional rehabilitation treatment, while patients in the BAA group were given 30 additional minutes of BAA treatment each day. The level of patients' fatigue was evaluated by Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the energy domain of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL-E). Besides, the activity of daily living of patients was assessed by Barthel Index (BI). All adverse events were clearly written during the whole trial. Results: 70 patients with PSF accomplished this study. The mean age of patients was 60.7 years and 47 (67%) were males. At baseline, no significant difference can be observed between two groups in FSS, SS-QOL-E, and BI. After 2-week treatment, both groups signified an increase on SS-QOL-E and BI scores, a decrease on FSS scores; and the SS-QOL-E scores of BAA group increased more than that of the control group (p< 0.05), but the changes of FSS and BI scores between two groups had no significant difference after treatment (p> 0.05). Serious adverse events were not reported. Conclusion: This study suggested the integrative program of BAA and conventional rehabilitation treatment maybe more effective in promoting the recovery of PSF. Further explorations on the treatment of PSF are needed.