Clinical efficacy and safety of acupotomy for acute ischemic stroke: A retrospective study.
Adjunctive acupotomy linked to greater functional recovery after acute ischemic stroke
Clinical efficacy and safety of acupotomy for acute ischemic stroke: A retrospective study.
Acute ischemic stroke (acute ischemic stroke) is a major cause of persistent neurological impairment and functional dependence.
Received either standard post-stroke rehabilitation alone (control, n = 61) or standard rehabilitation plus acupotomy (observation, n = 98).
Adjunctive interventions that may enhance rehabilitation-associated recovery warrant pragmatic evaluation in routine clinical settings.
This retrospective cohort study consecutively enrolled adults with imaging-confirmed acute ischemic stroke admitted between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021.
At discharge, the acupotomy plus rehabilitation group had a lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (4.46 ± 4.05 vs 6.00 ± 4.29; P = .026) and greater ΔNational Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (4.67 ± 2.19 vs 3.22 ± 2.49; P < .001).
Treatment effects were directionally consistent across prespecified subgroups without significant interaction.
Adjunctive acupotomy was associated with improved short-term neurological and functional outcomes without an observed increase in serious safety events in hospitalized acute ischemic stroke patients.