Fire-needling effective for allergic rhinitis

Fire-needling effective for allergic rhinitis

Fire-needle acupuncture (FA) is effective for alleviating nasal allergy symptoms and improving patient quality of life, providing longer-lasting benefits than either antihistamine drugs or sham treatment. Chinese investigators randomised 180 patients with moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis (AR) into three groups: FA treatment, sham fire-needle acupuncture (SFA) and loratadine. The intervention consisted of weekly acupuncture sessions for four weeks, followed by a four-week follow-up. FA involved quickly inserting a flame-heated needle into the acupoint Neiyingxiang, located inside the nasal cavity, opposite the external point Bitong M-HN-14. Outcomes included Total Nasal Symptom Scores (TNSS), Total Non-Nasal Symptom Scores (TNNSS), Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), Allergic Rhinitis Control Test (ARCT) and total nasal resistance. At weeks 2 and 4, both the FA and loratadine groups showed significantly reduced TNSS, TNNSS and RQLQ scores compared to the SFA group. By eight weeks, the loratadine group's scores began to increase, while the FA group maintained improved outcomes, with a large effect size (Cohen’s d > 0.80). The ARCT scores in the FA group increased gradually, indicating sustained improvement in symptom control. Additionally, FA significantly reduced total nasal resistance, achieving greater reductions than both the loratadine and SFA groups (Cohen’s d > 0.80). (Clinical Effect Analysis of Fire-needle Acupuncture at Neiyingxiang Treating Persistent Allergic Rhinitis. Laryngoscope. 2024 Nov;134(11):4471-4479).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38841861/