OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical efficiency of activating blood circulation to remove blood stasis recipe (ARR) in treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of acute aggravating stage.

METHODSAdopting the prospective randomized controlled method, sixty patients with COPD of acute aggravating stage were divided into two groups. Patients in the treated group (n = 32) was subdivided into four subtypes, Phlegm-Heat accumulation in Fei type, Phlegm-Dampness accumulation in Fei type, Fei-Shen Yin deficiency type and Fei-Pi Qi deficiency type. They were treated with ARR with modification according to their Syndrome type. Patients in the control group (n = 28) were treated with conventional western medicine. The therapeutic course of the two groups was 2 weeks. Changes of indexes including hemorrheological indexes (blood viscosity) and pulmonary function (FEV1, FEV1/FVE%) were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 90.6% in the treated group, while it was 67.9% in the control group. The symptom score and pulmonary function in the two groups were significantly different after treatment (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). In addition, the effect of ameliorating whole blood viscosity in the treated group was better than that in the control group, showing significant difference (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBoth therapies can improve clinical symptom in patients, but it was showed the effect in those treated with conventional western medicine plus ARR was better than in those treated with conventional western medicine alone.