MacPherson Hugh, Asghar Aziz
Foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine, York, UK.
J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Sep;12(7):633-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.633.
Many English language words have been used to describe the acupuncture needle sensation known as de qi, words such as dull, aching, and spreading. However, there is little agreement on which actual words are acceptable as descriptors. In experimental trials of acupuncture in which the needle sensation is an important variable, a quantitative measure is needed to monitor and control for variability in de qi.
An established scale in the literature provides a list of 25 sensations associated with acupuncture needling that patients might experience. An international group of acupuncture experts rated these 25 sensations in two categories: those predominantly associated with de qi and those with acute pain at the site of needling. For each category, sensations were classified into hierarchic clusters, one for de qi and one for acute pain, and the results were presented in dendrograms.
Twenty-nine international experts were invited to participate; 22 (76%) responded and 20 completed the questionnaire. On average, they had 21 years' experience in acupuncture practice (range 10-30 years). Seven sensations were found to be in the cluster associated with de qi: aching, dull, heavy, numb, radiating, spreading, and tingling. Nine sensations were found to be in a cluster associated with acute pain at the site of needling: burning, hot, hurting, pinching, pricking, sharp, shocking, stinging, and tender. The experts also raised a number of issues regarding the limitations of the questionnaire used, providing useful data for future research.
Data from experienced acupuncturists have been analyzed to provide two separate clusters of sensations associated with acupuncture needling: a de qi cluster and an acute pain cluster. In the design of experimental trials involving acupuncture needling, researchers will find these two clusters of sensations useful for monitoring and controlling for variation in needle sensation.
许多英语单词被用来描述针灸得气时的针感，如 dull（沉闷的）、aching（酸痛的）和 spreading（扩散的）等。然而，对于哪些实际的词汇可作为描述词，人们几乎没有达成共识。在针刺感觉是一个重要变量的针灸实验中，需要一种定量测量方法来监测和控制得气的变异性。
文献中一个既定的量表提供了一份与针刺相关的 25 种患者可能经历的感觉清单。一组国际针灸专家将这 25 种感觉分为两类：主要与得气相关的感觉和针刺部位急性疼痛相关的感觉。对于每一类，感觉被分类为层次聚类，一类用于得气，一类用于急性疼痛，结果以树形图呈现。
邀请了 29 位国际专家参与；22 位（76%）做出回应，20 位完成了问卷。他们平均有 21 年的针灸实践经验（范围为 10 - 30 年）。发现有七种感觉属于与得气相关的聚类：酸痛、沉闷、沉重、麻木、放射状、扩散和刺痛。发现有九种感觉属于与针刺部位急性疼痛相关的聚类：灼热、热、疼痛、挤压、刺痛、尖锐、电击样、刺痛和压痛。专家们还提出了一些关于所用问卷局限性的问题，为未来研究提供了有用的数据。
对有经验的针灸师的数据进行了分析，以提供与针刺相关的两类不同的感觉聚类：得气聚类和急性疼痛聚类。在涉及针刺的实验设计中，研究人员会发现这两类感觉聚类对于监测和控制针感变化很有用。
