Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Summary

The present protocol describes the specific process and efficacy of the acupoint application combined with ear plaster therapy for sleep disorders in a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including medical devices, selection of acupoints, operating methods, and posttreatment care.

Abstract

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a lung disease characterized by persistent airflow limitation, which is not fully reversible and progressive. Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) refers to acute changes in respiratory distress, cough, and sputum in COPD patients at baseline levels. Sleep disorders are a very common complication in patients with AECOPD. At present, long-term use of sedative-hypnotics alone has many side effects, such as mental and physical dependence and cognitive impairment. While the efficacy of other special intervention methods is not clear, and the cost is high, there is an urgent need for effective and safe treatment in clinics. Acupoint application and ear plaster therapy are considered the characteristic therapies of traditional Chinese medicine. They have the advantages of small side effects, high safety, and simple procedure. This study will elucidate in detail the specific process and efficacy of the two treatment methods for AECOPD complicated with sleep disorders, including medical devices used, selection of acupoints, procedure, and posttreatment care. This study is intended to provide a new reference for the clinical treatment modality of this type of disease.

Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by incomplete reversibility of airflow limitation, with gradual progression, primarily involving the lungs, but also causing damage to various other organs outside the lungs. Its pathogenesis is mainly related to the regulation of apoptosis and promotion of inflammatory response by radical oxygen species (ROS) during oxidative stress (OS)¹, affecting gene transcription and exacerbating protease-antiprotease imbalance finally². It often causes chronic coughing, coughing up sputum, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, wheezing, and chest tightn....

Protocol

This is a before and after self-controlled trial of seven patients diagnosed with AECOPD complicated with sleep disorders from the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between December 2023 and January 2024. The clinical study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Clinical Research Approval Committee of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (KY2022031).

1. Patient selection

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Discussion

This study combined AA with EPT to explore the procedure and efficacy of the treatment of sleep disorders in patients with AECOPD. AA refers to the external treatment method of grinding specific drugs into powder and then mixing them into a paste with water, white wine or rice wine, vinegar, ginger juice, etc., and finally making the paste, pill, powder, paste, mud, cake and other dosage forms, which are applied to specific acupoints. Reviewing the literature on AA in the treatment of sleep disorder in the past ten years.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
75% alcohol cotton balls	Shanghai Honglong Industrial Co., Ltd	20231116
Acupoint patches	Jiangsu Guangyi Medical Dressing Co., Ltd	20230718
Chinese herbal medicine	Guangdong Kanghe Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd	230802
Magnetic treatment plaster	Suzhou Medical Supplies Factory Co., Ltd	233010
Medical disposable sterilization rubber gloves	Shandong Yuyuan Latex Gloves Co., Ltd	230806R22
Medical hand disinfectants	Shanghai Likang Disinfection High tech Co., Ltd	20230113J
Medical tape	Minnesota Mining Manufacturing Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd	23063GO
Sterile cotton swabs	Shanghai Honglong Medical Equipment Co., Ltd	20231108
Tweezers	Yangzhou Huayue Technology Development Co., Ltd	20231106