We appreciate the financial support from the Science and Technology Development Fund Project of Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 20ZL10). The authors would like to thank Mr. Yang Yang for participating in our study as a model.

The clinical trial has been approved by the Approval Committee of the Respiratory Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. KY2022022). In this study, the diagnostic criteria of bronchial asthma refer to the Guidelines for Bronchial Asthma Prevent and Management (2020 edition)8 and TCM operations refer to the Criteria of Diagnosis and Therapeutic Effect of Diseases and Syndromes in Traditional Chinese Medicine15. The ty...

The airway inflammation caused by bronchial asthma is a cascade immune response involving various immune cells, cytokines, and inflammatory mediators19. Bronchial biopsies of asthmatic patients show the presence of eosinophils, activated mast cells, and Th2 cell-based T cell infiltration20. Pulmonary function indexes FEV1 and PEF reflect the severity of airway obstruction, and are the most commonly used indexes for objectively judging and evaluating the condition of asthma<...

The protocol presented here demonstrates the operation of moxibustion in treating bronchial asthma in terms of patient management, material preparation, acupoint selection, operation, and postoperative nursing. The purpose of this protocol is to control the symptoms of patients with bronchial asthma and improve lung function by moxibustion.
Acupuncture and moxibustion are important components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Concerning bronchial asthma, acupuncture and moxibustion have accumulated extensive clinical experience in treatments, and moxibustion in particular has shown unique advantages1,2,3,4. Modern studies show that the effects of the biological mechanism of warming promotion and supplementation of moxibustion are as follows: moxibustion activates the acupoints (local starting), promotes the movement of qi and blood, regulates the neuroendocrine-immune network (regulatory pathway), and regulates the functions of the viscera (response of the effector organ)5,6,7.
Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway which can lead to symptoms such as recurrent wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, or cough, due to the increased airway reactivity. These symptoms often occur or worsen at night or in the morning8. Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in the world, affecting people of all ages9. In recent years, the prevalence of bronchial asthma in China has been increasing yearly. The latest epidemiological survey showed that the prevalence of asthma in adults over 20 years old is 4.2%10. The disease will lead to airway remodeling and hyperreactivity, which will seriously affect the pulmonary function of patients in the late stage. Currently, the main clinical treatments for bronchial asthma are anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and symptomatic treatments. Nevertheless, the high recurrence rate and intractability outline the main disadvantages, let alone the poor long-term drug efficacy and lack of an ideal therapeutic schedule. Compared with inhaled drugs alone, moxibustion could enhance humoral and cellular immunity, which have a significant immunomodulatory effect during treatment11,12,13. By burning and roasting the Chinese medica above human acupoints, moxibustion is a type of treatment that works through drugs and heat stimulation. It has effects such as dispelling cold sensations by warming the meridians, promoting qi circulation to remove the meridian obstruction, and eliminating stagnation to activate meridians. It is regarded as a TCM characteristic therapy for bronchial asthma14.

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			<td>Yuekang Hardware Medical Instrument Factory, Caitang Town, Chao&#39;an District, Chaozhou City</td>
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a traditional chinese medicine characteristic therapy for bronchial asthma: moxibustion

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway which can lead to symptoms such as recurrent wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, or cough, as a result of increased airway reactivity. With high diurnal variation, these symptoms often occur or worsen at night or in the morning. By burning and roasting the Chinese medica above human acupoints, moxibustion is a type of treatment that stimulates the activity of the human meridians through drugs and heat stimulation to prevent and treat diseases. According to the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, acupoints are selected on the corresponding parts, which has a definite effect. It is regarded as a characteristic traditional Chinese medicine therapy for bronchial asthma. This protocol elaborates the methods and steps of patient management, material preparation, selection of acupoints, operation, and postoperative nursing to ensure safe and effective moxibustion treatment to significantly improve the clinical symptoms and quality of life of patients with bronchial asthma.

Eight patients with bronchial asthma who met the criteria were treated with moxibustion. All patients had the same diagnostic criteria for bronchial asthma, and the patients&#39; pulmonary function FEV1 ratio, PEF ratio (actual/expected; percentage), and asthma control test (ACT) scores were measured before and after the moxibustion treatment in the same way. After one course of treatment, all patients had improved pulmonary function FEV1 ratio, PEF ratio, and ACT scores. Before treatment, the pulmonary function FEV1 rat...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Traditional Chinese Medicine Characteristic Therapy for Bronchial Asthma: Moxibustion at JoVE.com

A Traditional Chinese Medicine Characteristic Therapy for Bronchial Asthma: Moxibustion

This protocol presents a curative procedure of moxibustion in treating patients with bronchial asthma.

A Traditional Chinese Medicine Characteristic Therapy for Bronchial Asthma: Moxibustion

Abstract