Effect of Acupuncture at Different Angles and Depths at Fengchi Acupoint on Senile Stroke

Objective To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture at Fengchi acupoint at different angles and depths on elderly stroke patients. Methods 60 elderly patients with stroke complicated with dysphagia admitted to Changchun Orthopaedic Hospital from September 2022 to September 2023 were selected as the study subjects. They were randomly divided into two groups by lottery, 30 cases in each group. In the control group, acupuncture at Fengchi acupoint was performed according to the conventional acupuncture depth, 0.8 - 1.2 inches in the direction of the nasal tip, in the observation group, acupuncture at Fengchi acupoint was performed 1.5 - 2.0 inches in the direction of the laryngeal knot, both groups were also given conventional treatment. The clinical efficacy, TCM symptoms, swallowing function (water swallowing test and vision fluorescence swallowing study), neurological function [National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)], quality of life and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05) . After treatment, the scores of mouth angle deviation, eye fissure closure and nasolabial fold depth in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05) . After treatment, the result of water swallowing test, NIHSS score of the observation group were lower than thosein the control group (P < 0.05) . The result of vision fluorescence swallaving study and quality of life score in the observation were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P > 0.05) . Conclusion Deep needling at Fengchi acupoint and acupuncture towards the laryngeal knot have a significant effect on the improvement of symptoms and prognosis in elderly stroke patients, and this method is safe and feasible.