Wake-promoting effect of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on patients in a persistent vegetative state
ZHANG Xulong
MI Jianrong
LI Jing
YUAN Lili
MENG Xiangwei
FAN Xiaoyan
Abstract：Objective To investigate the efficacy of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)in promoting arousal in patients with persistent vegetative state(PVS).Methods A total of 70 eligible PVS patients were randomly assigned to an observation group or a control group,with 35 patients in each group.Both groups received conventional basic treatment and rehabilitation training.The control group was treated with rTMS alone,while the observation group received rTMS plus Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture.Treatments were administered once daily,five times per week,with a two-day interval each week,for a total of 6 weeks.The Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS),Coma Recovery Scale-Revised(CRS-R),and Chinese Vegetative State Scale(CVSS)scores were observed before and after treatment,and the arousal rate after treatment was evaluated.Results After treatment,both groups showed significant increases in GCS,CRS-R,and CVSS scores(P<0.05).The observation group demonstrated higher scores on the GCS,CRS-R,and CVSS compared to the control group(P<0.05).The arousal rate was 38.70%(12/31)in the observation group,which was significantly higher than that in the control group(15.62%,5/32;P<0.05).Conclusion Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture combined with rTMS can effectively improve the level of consciousness in patients with PVS.
Keywords：Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncturerepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulationpersistent vegetative statewake-promoting effect
Publication Date：2026-02-10
Online Publishing Date：2026-02-07(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 511-516 )