Objective: To compare the efficacy of using “distal acupoints only” vs. “local acupoints mainly combined with distal acupoints” in cases of acute low back pain (ALBP). Methods: A total of 102 eligible patients aged 18–65 years with ALBP lasting less than 6 weeks will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to the distal acupoints only group (DPOG) and the local acupoints mainly combined with the distal acupoints group (LPMG). During a 4-week treatment period, patients in the DPOG will receive acupuncture at distal acupoints only (Houxi [SI 3] and Yaotongxue [EX-UE 7]) twice a week, while those in the LPMG group will receive acupuncture at local acupoints (mainly Shenshu [BL 23] and Dachangshu [BL 25]) combined with distal points (Weizhong [BL 40]). The patients in both groups will be evaluated at every session of treatment, and the follow-up will be performed for 3 months. The primary outcome measure will be the change in ALBP intensity, assessed using visual analogue scale scores before and after treatment. The secondary outcome measure will be the evaluation of functional disability using the Oswestry Disability Index. Discussion This study compares the DPOG and LPMG to explore the feasibility of the DPOG in the treatment of ALBP.

Objective : The unintentional retention of needles in patients can lead to severe consequences. To enhance acupuncture safety, the study aimed to develop a deep learning-based cloud system for automated process of counting acupuncture needles. Methods: This project adopted transfer learning from a pre-trained Oriented Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Oriented R-CNN) model to develop a detection algorithm that can automatically count the number of acupuncture needles in a camera picture. A training set with 590 pictures and a validation set with 1 025 pictures were accumulated for finetuning. Then, we deployed the MMRotate toolbox in a Google Colab environment with a NVIDIA Tesla T4 Graphics processing unit (GPU) to carry out the training task. Furthermore, we integrated the model with a newly-developed Telegram bot interface to determine the accuracy, precision, and recall of the needling counting system. The end-to-end inference timewas also recorded to determine the speed of our cloud service system. Result: In a 20-needle scenario, our Oriented R-CNN detection model has achieved an accuracy of 96.49%, precision of 99.98%, and recall of 99.84%, with an average end-to-end inference time of 1.535 s. Conclusion The speed, accuracy, and reliability advancements of this cloud service system innovation have demonstrated its potential of using object detection technique to improve acupuncture practice based on deep learning.

Stomach pain in Chinese medicine (CM) is a very common disorder in clinical practice and it has been listed as one of the pilot three conditions in Hong Kong to develop evidence-based CM clinical practice guidelines (CM CPGs). The aim of this stomach Pain CPG is to summarize the treatment methods of stomach pain with CM and evaluate reasonably, then to guide local licensed CM practitioners and provide beneficial reference for social medical decision makers and patients. In this manuscript, we defined stomach pain in CM and the category of chronic gastritis in Western medicine. The clinical manifestation, CM pattern classification, and CM intervention including herbal medicine treatment based on pattern differentiation, symptomatic treatment, acupuncture treatment, regulation and nursing were illustrated.

OBJECTIVETo systematically review the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for ischemic stroke in Chinese medicine (CM) with the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument.

METHODSCM CPGs for ischemic stroke were searched in 5 online databases and hand-searches in CPGrelated handbooks published from January 1990 to December 2012. The CPGs were categorized into evidence based (EB) guideline, consensus based with no explicit consideration of evidence based (CB-EB) guideline and consensus based (CB) guideline according to the development method. Three reviewers independently appraised the CPGs based on AGREE II instrument, and compared the CPGs' recommendations on CM pattern classification and treatment.

RESULTSFive CM CPGs for ischemic stroke were identified and included. Among them, one CPG was EB guideline, two were CB guidelines and two were CB-EB guidelines. The quality score of the EB guideline was higher than those of the CB-EB and CB guidelines. Five CM patterns in the CPGs were recommended in the EB CPG. The comprehensive protocol of integrative Chinese and Western medicine recommended in the EB CPG was mostly recommended for ischemic stroke in the CPGs. The recommendations varied based on the CM patterns.

CONCLUSIONThe quality of EB CPG was higher than those of CB and CB-EB CPGs in CM for ischemic stroke and integrative approaches were included in CPGs as major interventions.

Biomedical Research ; Brain Ischemia ; complications ; therapy ; Health Planning Guidelines ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Stroke ; complications ; therapy