Research progress of external therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the treatment of thyroid nodules

With the vigorous development of modern economy and the continuous intensification of work pressure, the incidence of thyroid nodules shows an increasing trend. During the treatment of thyroid nodules in Western medicine, patients may experience a variety of side effects, including potential damage to gastrointestinal function from the drug and problems such as permanent hypothyroidism that may occur after surgery. In contrast, the external therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history and remarkable clinical results in the treatment of thyroid nodules. These methods include acupuncture, moxibustion, auricular acupoint pressing, acupoint catgut-embedding, TCM iontophoresis, scraping and TCM external application. External therapy of t TCM can not only reduce the maximum diameter of thyroid nodule effectively, but also significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients. This paper systematically reviewed studies on the external therapy of TCM in the treatment of thyroid nodules, and provided reference and suggestions for future researches and clinical practice. (甲状腺结节的发病率呈上升趋势, 严重影响患者的生活和工作。西医干预手段虽日趋多样, 但患者在药物治疗过程中常出现胃肠道不良反应, 而手术切除则面临永久性甲状腺功能减退等并发症风险。中医外治法治疗甲状腺结节历史悠久、手段丰富, 涵盖针刺、灸法、耳穴埋籽、穴位埋线、中药离子导入、刮痧及中药外敷等多种技术路径。本文系统综述了中医外治法治疗甲状腺结节的相关研究, 为未来研究及临床实践提供了参考与建议。)