Clinical observation of cupping therapy for simple sinus tract

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of cupping therapy for simple sinus tract. Methods A total of 50 patients from January 2015 to January 2018 with simple sinus tract were recruited. Patients were randomly assigned to cupping therapy group(n=25) and control group (n=25). Patients in cupping therapy group received cupping therapy for 10 min per treatment after routine dressing change, twice daily, and the time interval was 10-15 min. The control group was treated with routine dressing change once every day. The follow-up lasted for 40 days. The healing time, positive rate of sinus bacteria culture and pain score (VAS score) were compared between the two groups. Results The healing rate of cupping therapy patients (88%) was significantly higher than that of control group (48%)(P=0.002), and the healing time of cupping therapy patients (17.08±4.24 days) was significantly lower than that of control group (28.20±8.74 days)(P=0.000). After one-week treatment, the infection and VAS scores of both groups were declined. The wound germiculture of cupping group (40%) was significantly lower than that of control group (68%)(P=0.047), while the VAS scores of cupping group patients (2.28±0.88) were significantly lower than those of control group (4.20±1.04) (P=0.000). Conclusion Cupping therapy can shorten the healing time of sinus, reduce bacterial load and local pain, which is simple and worthy of promotion.