[Bibliometrics analysis on researches of illness spectrum for acu-moxibustion therapy and prospect].

The research on indications of acu-moxibustion is very important for effectively guiding clinical practice. In the present paper, the authors retrieved domestic literature about researches on the disease-spectrum or indications of acu-moxibustion therapy in recent 10 years, and made a bibliometrics analysis according to the described research methods, publishing year, quantity and their proportionate relationship. A total of 18 qualified original papers involving 414 illnesses or clinical conditions were included in the present paper. Among the 414 kinds of clinical conditions or illnesses, 72 were considered to be suitable candidates for acu-moxibustion therapy, including functional dyspepsia, herpes zoster, irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal dysfunction, scapulohumeral periarthritis, cervical syndrome, dyssomnia, acne (cyst type), chronic urticaria, regional neurodermatitis, pain, itching, etc. which belong to illness-spectrum grade-I. Generally, the acu-moxibustion therapy is, in clinical effects, relatively poorer for structural diseases which are attributed to grade-II or grade-III type. Nevertheless, the diversity of clinical indications of acu-moxibustion has been confirmed nowadays. Current studies on illness-spectrum are of certain uniformity and comprehensiveness, but need further extending and perfecting, and need more standardized methods corresponding to principles of the evidence-based medicine.