A method of selecting acupoints for acupuncture treatment of peripheral facial paralysis by thermography.

The purpose of this study is to select acupoints for acupuncture treatment of peripheral facial paralysis according to the temperature on the face of the patient detected by thermogram, to determine an objective acupoint selection method for acupuncture treatment. In the test group of 60 cases of facial paralysis, the infrared thermogram on the face was detected at the first visit, and then acupuncture was given at the acupoints on the affected side with a temperature difference of over 0.5 degrees C from the healthy side for one therapeutic course, and in each successive course the acupoints were re-determined according to the results of thermogram examination and were administrated till the end of the total therapeutic course, and 120 cases of the control group were treated with acupuncture at conventionally selected acupoints. The results showed that the cured and basically cured rate was 90.0% (54 cases) in the test group and 77.5% (93 cases) in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.05); and the total sessions of acupuncture were less and the course of treatment was shorter in the test group than those in the control group (both p < 0.001). The utilization rate of the acupoints selected by facial thermogram in the test group was in order of Dicang (ST 4, 92.3%), Yingxiang (LI 20, 90.6%), Taiyang (EX-HN 5, 85.5%), Yangbai (GB 14, 76.6%), Quanliao (SI 18, 72.3%), and so on. In conclusion, acupuncture at the acupoints selected by thermogram for treatment of facial paralysis in the cured rate, the therapeutic course and sessions of acupuncture is significantly superior to acupuncture at the conventionally selected acupoints, and the thermogram-aided acupoint selection method is beneficial to objectivity and modernization of acupoint selection for acupuncture and moxibustion treatments.