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Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2026 , Vol. 46 >Issue 1: 195 - 204

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.01.018

Original Articles

Effect of point application therapy for bronchial asthma: a multicenter randomized controlled trial

  • Huanfang XU ,
  • Jiashan LI ,
  • Li YANG ,
  • Wenzhong WU ,
  • Jun YANG ,
  • Wei ZHANG ,
  • Hui LI ,
  • Nini QU ,
  • Rui WANG ,
  • Landi WANG ,
  • Hongzhi YANG ,
  • Lihua ZHANG ,
  • Yong HE ,
  • Guanyu XIONG ,
  • Baoyan LIU ,
  • Yigong FANG
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  • 1 Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital, Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
    2 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
    3 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230031, China
    4 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410007, China
    5 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China
    6 Department of Respiratory Medicine, the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang 110032, China
    7 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250011, China
    8 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730050, China
    9 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430061, China
    10 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shaanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi’an 710003, China
    11 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhengzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450007, China
    12 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Kaifeng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kaifeng 475000, China
    13 Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
XU Huanfang and LI Jiashan are co-first authors and contributed equally to this work

Received date: 2024-11-27

  Accepted date: 2025-06-09

  Online published: 2026-01-28

Supported by

“12th Five-year” National Science and Technology Pillar Program by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China: Clinical Evaluation and Technical Operation Specification Research on Preventing Bronchial Asthma Attacks by Acupoint Application in Winter Disease Summer Treatment(2015BAI04B11)

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of point application therapy (PAT) in alleviating the exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases represented by bronchial asthma.

METHODS: In this multicenter randomized placebo-controlled trial, eligible bronchial asthma patients received placebo PAT on the dog days of the first summer to establish a baseline, and then patients who continued to participate in the trial and repassed the eligibility review were randomized to receive regular or placebo PAT in the next two consecutive summers. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in the number of asthma exacerbations at 24 months. Secondary outcomes included severity of asthma exacerbation, asthma control test (ACT) score, percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) to the predicated value (FEV1%pred), peak expiratory flow (PEF), ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), and use of palliative drugs during bronchial asthma exacerbations at 12 and 24 months. The adverse events (AEs) were also assessed.

RESULTS: A total of 835 patients with bronchial asthma were randomized in this trial. Compared with the placebo control, the PAT significantly decreased the mean number of asthma exacerbations (1.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.69 to 2.14; P < 0.001), and increased the FEV1%pred at 24 months (P = 0.039) and FEV1/FVC at 12 months (P = 0.01) and 24 months (P = 0.01). There were no significant differences between the groups in PEF or ACT score at 12 and 24 months, or in FEV1%pred at 12 months. Treatment-related AEs were mild and more common in the PAT group than in the placebo PAT group. No serious AEs were reported.

CONCLUSION: PAT conducted on dog days could reduce asthma exacerbations in patients with bronchial asthma.

Key words： asthma; randomized controlled trial; point application therapy; number of asthma exacerbations

Cite this article

Huanfang XU , Jiashan LI , Li YANG , Wenzhong WU , Jun YANG , Wei ZHANG , Hui LI , Nini QU , Rui WANG , Landi WANG , Hongzhi YANG , Lihua ZHANG , Yong HE , Guanyu XIONG , Baoyan LIU , Yigong FANG . Effect of point application therapy for bronchial asthma: a multicenter randomized controlled trial[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2026 , 46(1) : 195 -204 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.01.018

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