Therapeutic effect observation on acupuncture plus medication for post-stroke depression

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture with medication for post-stroke depression. Methods A total of 96 patients with post-stroke depression were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 48 cases in each group. The control group was treated with oral fluoxetine hydrochloride capsules, and the observation group was treated with acupuncture on the basis of the treatment of the control group. After 6 months of treatment, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scores, and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) component scores and total scores of the two groups before and after treatment were observed, and the clinical efficacy and adverse reaction rate were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate was 95.8% in the observation group and 83.3% in the control group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P <0.05). After treatment, the intra-group differences in TCM symptom scores and HAMD score of both groups were statistically significant (all P <0.01). In the observation group, the scores of indifferent expression, emotional restlessness, and sentimentality in the TCM symptoms were statistically different from those in the control group (all P <0.01). The scores of desperate factor and sleep disorder factor and total score in HAMD in the observation group were significantly different from those in the control group (all P <0.01). The incidence of adverse reactions was 6.3% in the observation group and 4.2% in the control group, and the difference was not significant between the two groups ( P >0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture plus medication is an effective method for post-stroke depression, and it can further improve the patient's bad mood.