Observation on the Clinical Therapeutic Effect of Different Combinations of Filiform Fire Needling Combined with Stellate Ganglion Catgut Embedding in Postherpetic Neuralgia and Its Effect on serum IL-6/TNF-α

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical curative effect of different combinations of filiform fire needling and catgut embedding at the stellate ganglion in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Methods: From July 2020 to December 2021, 120 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for PHN were selected from Huzhou Central Hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to four groups: pregabalin group (Group A), filiform fire needling group (Group B), stellate ganglion catgut embedding group (Group C), and filiform fire needling + stellate ganglion catgut embedding group (Group D). The pain level of patients before and after treatment was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). The time to pain relief after the first treatment was recorded. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated using VAS-based criteria. Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured before and after treatment. Adverse reactions during the treatment period were observed and recorded. Results: After treatment, the VAS score in Group D was significantly lower than those in Groups A, B, and C (all P < 0.05), and the time to pain relief in Group D was the shortest, significantly faster than the other three groups (all P < 0.05). The effectiveness evaluation showed that the total effective rate in Group D was 92.86%, which was significantly higher than in Group A (66.67%), Group B (71.43%), and Group C (60.71%) (all P < 0.05). After treatment, serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in Group D were significantly lower than those in Groups A, B, and C (all P < 0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in any of the four groups, and there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions among the groups (all P > 0.05). Conclusion: Filiform fire needling combined with stellate ganglion catgut embedding in the treatment of PHN has a good analgesic effect, and the clinical curative effect is ideal. The combination therapy demonstrated superior analgesic efficacy with acceptable safety.