Efficacy of warm acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis

This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy and safety of warm acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. A total of 134 patients treated between May 2023 and May 2025 were included, with 69 receiving warm acupuncture plus conventional therapy (observation group) and 65 receiving conventional therapy alone (control group). Baseline demographic characteristics, comorbidities, renal function parameters, and proteinuria indices were comparable between groups. Renal function improved significantly after treatment in both groups; however, the observation group showed greater benefits, with a larger increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate (6.8 ± 5.5 vs 3.2 ± 5.0 mL/min/1.73 m2; P < .001) and more pronounced reductions in serum creatinine (-12.3 ± 10.0 vs -6.1 ± 9.5 μmol/L; P < .001) and blood urea nitrogen (-1.4 ± 1.1 vs -0.7 ± 1.0 mmol/L; P < .001). Proteinuria also decreased in both groups, with greater reductions in the observation group for 24-hour urinary protein (-0.96 ± 0.65 vs -0.61 ± 0.60 g/24 h; P = .001) and urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (-0.82 ± 0.55 vs -0.48 ± 0.50 g/g; P < .001). The overall incidence of adverse events did not differ significantly between groups, and warm acupuncture-related local reactions were mild and self-limiting. These findings suggest that warm acupuncture is a safe and potentially useful adjunct to optimize renal protection and proteinuria control in chronic glomerulonephritis.