Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Combined With Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized,Double-Blind,Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study investigated the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with herbal medicine in treating severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). We selected 218 patients with severe TBI who were admitted to Longhua Hospital of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2021 to March 2023. The control group (n = 72) received conventional Western medicine, the acupuncture group (n = 72) received acupuncture treatment, and the combination group (n = 72) received acupuncture treatment with Xuefu Zhuyu decoction. Statistical analyses were performed to compare treatment effects, consciousness levels, functional states, cognitive states, emotional disorders, hemodynamics, prognostic indexes, and adverse event incidence among the three groups. After treatment, the effective rate in the combination group (86.66%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (77.77%) and the acupuncture group (55.55%) (P < 0.05). The levels of consciousness, functional ability, cognitive function, emotional disorder assessments, hemodynamics, and prognostic indicators improved significantly in all three groups. The GCS, FIM, MoCA, MMSE, HAMD, HAMA, PSV, RI, Vm, NGF, and NF-L scores were superior in the combination group compared with those in the control and acupuncture groups after treatment (P < 0.05). The improvement effect size of the combined group was significantly greater than that of the control and acupuncture groups. The differences in safety among the three groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Acupuncture–medicine combination therapy for TBI significantly enhances patients' levels of consciousness, functional abilities, cognitive function, mood disorders, hemodynamic indices, and prognosis, offering an effective and safe treatment option for patients with severe TBI.