Acupuncture Treatment for coma/vegetative state (a draft)
Translated and edited by: Joe Hing kwok Chu
【Treatment】
Body points with points on scalp
I. points to use:
Main points： feng fu
DU16，ya men Du 15。
Supplement points：
for awareness, add ren zhong Du 26，Bai hui
DU20， Nao qing (an extra point and is 2 fingers’ breadths aboveJie Xi, St. 41)；
for cardiac weakness, and dark red tongue with purple spots, add Nei quan PC6，Xue hai SP10；
for incontinence after waking up, add San yin jiao
Sp 6， Yin ling quan
Sp 9;
for swallowing difficulty add:
Yi
feng SJ 17
，Lian quan RN 23；
for obstruction of limbs add local shu points (trigger points, e.g. points that reflect the organs).
when result of treatment is not obvious, add scalp acupuncture points of zhong xian (top middle line), nie qian xian (front of the temple line)
II. Treatment method
Main points have to be used in every treatment. According to syndrome add supplement points.
Depth of insertion: Before wakening (still in coma state), the depth should be12～14％ of the measurement of the circumference of the neck of the patient..
After the awareness is recovered, for the depth of insertion, use the following formula:
feng fu
DU 16:Ycm=2.6475+0.0778X
ya men Du 15:Ycm=2.7183+0.07X
Where Ycm is depth of insertion. X is the circumference of the neck of the patient.
After insertion and getting de qi (tingling, heat, some numbness sensation), remove the needle.
Alternatively using the 2 points. For other points: use the same method of needling.
For scalp, insert 1 to 2 inches (biological inch, middle joint of middle finger of patient), at an angle into the area between subgaleal and periosteum. Leave needles there for 15 to 30 minutes. Needle once a day.
Therapy period can be long. Usually it requires more than half a year.
II. Evaluation of treatment effectiveness:
The standard of effectiveness evaluation:
Basically healed: awareness is clear, speech and movements of body recovered,able to self manage of daily life.
Obviously effective: awareness is clear, can aware of time, place, people and ages, and able to use short sentences to express thought, carry on conversation and jokes easily, the stiffness of body and limbs are obviously improved.
Effective:presenting awake condition, reacting to speeches from others, able to move the eyes to view things, reacting to oral commands like opening mouth, closing the eyes, simple movements etc.
Non-effective: no improvement after treatments
Treated 8 patients. One is unique case. Seven cases used the above standard for evaluation.
Total effectiveness: 85.7% [1. 2]
Nei qian xian is the line between Han yan point GB 4 and Xian li point GB 6
Main references:
[1] Clinical Observation on Acupuncture Treatment on 7 Decerebration State Patients; by Li Ding-Ming et el. Chinese Medical Journal1989；307：36。
[2]Acupuncture Treatment on Sporadic EncephalitisDecerebration State; by Liu Jing-Xian et el. Shanghai Acupuncture and Moxibustion Journal1989；83：21。
[3] Clinical Analysis on Jing Luo Dao Ping Treatment on 19 Vegetative Patients; by Zhang Xu-Zhen et el. Inner Mongolia Chinese Medicine1994；1：42。
[4]Clinical Observation on Acupuncture Treatment on Vegetative Patients; by Zhang Zhan-Jun et el.ChineseAcupuncture and Moxibustion1996；1610：10。
Editor note: The above is the main info for treatment. It is a draft. Do not let untrained people use this method. This is designed to be a reference for skilled practitioners/researchers.
Please make sure that the Chinese names of points match the international codes. When in doubt use the Chinese pinyin names.
Jing Luo Dao Ping Treatment is a treatment method of using therapeutic apparatus as a tool to apply strong current in the points to restore ying yang balance. Electrode pads are used on the meridian area of the skin instead of needles. Input electrical voltage is much higher than the average electrical acupuncture. The maximum output voltage can be up to several kilo volts so that the higher resistance areas of the skin can also be effective.
Nei qian xian is the line between Han yan point GB 4 (頷厭穴) and Xian li point GB 6 (懸厘穴)