Tuckey Catherine R, Kohut Susan H, Edgar Dale W
School of Physiotherapy, The University of Notre Dame Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Scars Burn Heal. 2022 Feb 23;8:20595131211058430. doi: 10.1177/20595131211058430. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.
Following burn injury and a prolonged duration of healing, scars may become hypertrophic, causing movement restriction, increased scar thickness, colour and pliability, and symptoms such as pain and itch. Acupuncture has emerged as a potentially beneficial treatment for neuroinflammation, which perpetuates the negative features of hypertrophic scars. The aim of this study was to pilot test an evidence-based methodology for applying and measuring the clinical effects of localised acupuncture for symptomatic scars, in a patient with a healed burn injury.
A 71-year-old caucasian male presented with a hypertrophic scar that was painful and itchy after burn injury and subsequent skin grafting. He received acupuncture and massage treatment local to his scar as per the local (verum) group of the author's clinical trial under recruitment. Needles were inserted around the circumference of the skin grafted area and adjacent to areas of raised scar tissue within the grafted area and stimulated via bi-directional rotation. Outcome measures included a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain and itch, Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) self-assessment component and SF36 quality-of-life measure to capture any non-specific acupuncture effects.
Acupuncture applied locally around the scar was associated with short-term relief of symptoms and significantly reduced his subjective outcome measure scores relating to scar thickness, redness and pliability out to six months after injury. Some short-term increase in symptoms occurred on several occasions following treatment; however, treatment was well tolerated supporting the use of this protocol for a larger future clinical trial.
Following injury to the skin, scars can become raised, red and reduce movement. Other common symptoms may include pain and itch. Previous studies suggest acupuncture may help symptomatic scars, but more research is needed to confirm this with larger samples of patients.This case study tested the active treatment protocol for a clinical trial using acupuncture on symptomatic scars. A 71-year-old white man had a burn scar on his torso after a workplace accident. His treatment involved scar massage and local acupuncture. The acupuncture needles were inserted around the skin graft borders and thickened bands of scar tissue.Outcomes were measured using surveys recording symptoms, scar characteristics and quality of life. These were used to assess treatment effect and how well the protocol was tolerated. Over the course of treatment both pain and itch improvedThis case report showed that the treatment protocol was well tolerated, and that local acupuncture was associated with improved scar symptoms and physical characteristics up to six months after injury.
烧伤后若愈合时间延长，瘢痕可能会增生，导致活动受限、瘢痕厚度增加、颜色改变、柔韧性变差，以及出现疼痛和瘙痒等症状。针灸已成为一种对神经炎症可能有益的治疗方法，而神经炎症会使增生性瘢痕的负面特征持续存在。本研究的目的是对一种基于证据的方法进行初步测试，该方法用于对一名烧伤已愈合患者的有症状瘢痕进行局部针灸治疗并测量其临床效果。
一名71岁的白种男性，因烧伤及随后的皮肤移植后出现增生性瘢痕，伴有疼痛和瘙痒。他按照作者正在招募的临床试验的局部（真穴）组方案，接受了瘢痕局部的针灸和按摩治疗。在植皮区域的周边以及植皮区域内隆起的瘢痕组织区域附近插入针，并通过双向旋转进行刺激。结果测量包括疼痛和瘙痒的数字评定量表（NRS）、患者和观察者瘢痕评估量表（POSAS）的自我评估部分以及SF-36生活质量测量，以捕捉任何非特异性的针灸效果。
在瘢痕周围局部应用针灸与症状的短期缓解相关，并显著降低了他在受伤后六个月内与瘢痕厚度、发红和柔韧性相关的主观结果测量分数。治疗后有几次症状出现了一些短期加重；然而，治疗耐受性良好，支持将该方案用于未来更大规模的临床试验。
皮肤受伤后，瘢痕可能会隆起、发红并限制活动。其他常见症状可能包括疼痛和瘙痒。先前的研究表明针灸可能有助于治疗有症状的瘢痕，但需要更多研究以更大样本量的患者来证实这一点。本病例研究测试了一项针对有症状瘢痕使用针灸的临床试验的积极治疗方案。一名71岁的白人男性在工作场所事故后躯干有烧伤瘢痕。他的治疗包括瘢痕按摩和局部针灸。针灸针插入植皮边界和增厚的瘢痕组织带周围。使用记录症状、瘢痕特征和生活质量的调查问卷来测量结果。这些用于评估治疗效果和该方案的耐受性。在治疗过程中，疼痛和瘙痒均有所改善。本病例报告表明该治疗方案耐受性良好，并且局部针灸与受伤后长达六个月瘢痕症状和物理特征的改善相关。
