[Quantitative study on tongue diagnosis in stroke patients].

OBJECTIVE

To study the tongue proper and tongue fur quantitatively in stroke patients.

METHODS

Three hundred and seventy-eight stroke patients were studied by means of TCM Glossoscopy Expert System, the techniques of color digitized image processing and pattern recognition were applied to objectively study the changes of tongue proper and tongue fur.

RESULTS

Dark-red tongue was the commonest tongue proper, which revealed in 128 cases (33.86%) in the 378 patients investigated. There was significant difference of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) values in dark-red tongue as compared with those in pale-purple tongue, pale-white tongue, pale-red tongue, deep red tongue, purple-red tongue and blue-purple tongue (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Thick and yellow greasy fur was the commonest in 214 cases of acute stage, it accounted for 30.84% and with a total of 66 cases. There was also significant difference in R/G and R/B values among different types of tongue fur (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

This quantitative study on stroke patients regarding to tongue proper and tongue fur by means of TCM Glossoscopy Expert System provides a base for standardization and quantification of diagnosis of stroke patients.