Clinical study on long-term treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with integrative medicine

Abstract

Objective

To seek for a new method of integrated Chinese and western medicine in treating ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to control the disease development, shorten the therapeutic course and lower disability rate.

Methods

Patients of AS enrolled in this study were 106 cases in Group A, who were persistently treated with traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine (TCM-WM) for over 10 months, 48 cases in Group B treated with WM and 34 cases in Group C treated with non-steroid anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. They were followed-up for 2 years.

Results

(1) Short-term effect: The markedly effective rate in the 3 groups was 73.58% , 47.92% and 5.88% respectively, and the total effective rate was 96.23%, 87.50% and 41.18% respectively. The comparison of Group A with Group B and C showed significant difference, the effect in Group A was superior to that in Group B and Group C (x² = 10.58, P<0.01 and x² = 67.76, P<0. 01 respectively). (2) Results of 2-year follow-up: the recurrence rate in Group A was 18.37% (9/49), it was insignificantly different from that in Group B (7/23, 30.43% , x² = 1 . 32, P >0.05), but significantly different from that in Group C (8/12, 66.67%, x² = H . 19, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Long-term TCM-WM therapy, which combined the advantages of Chinese and western medicine, was a practical method in treating AS with reliable effect, few side-effects, and therefore is worth popularizing.