Effect of Press Needle Acupuncture Treatment on Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Retrospective Study

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Patchara Ruengwongroj

Abstract

Postherpetic neuralgia is a common complication following herpes zoster infection. Most patients experience severe pain and need multiple pain control medications including other alternative treatments such as acupuncture. This study aimed to determine the effect of press needle acupuncture treatment on pain intensity. The data from medical records of 190 patients with postherpetic neuralgia who had received press needle acupuncture treatment in Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital were collected. Baseline pain visual analogue scale (VAS) was 7.2 ± 2.1 After ten sessions of press needle acupuncture treatments pain VAS significantly reduced to 2.1 ± 2.4 (p < 0.001). No serious complications from press needle acupuncture were found in this study, except for only two cases of plaster contact dermatitis. Thus, the use of press needle acupuncture may be an alternative treatment in postherpetic neuralgia.

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