Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2026 Mar 12;46(3):361-366. doi: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250206-0002. Epub 2026 Jan 6.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of thumbtack needling combined with sodium hyaluronate eye drops in the treatment of moderate-to-severe dry eye.

METHODS: A total of 72 patients with moderate-to-severe dry eye were randomly divided into a thumbtack needling group and a conventional treatment group, with 36 patients in each group. The conventional treatment group received sodium hyaluronate eye drops, while the thumbtack needling group received additional thumbtack needling based on the same conventional therapy. The selected points for thumbtack needling included bilateral Jingming (BL1), Chengqi (ST1), and Qiuhou (EX-HN7). Treatment was performed twice a week for four consecutive weeks. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, first non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUTf), average non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUTav), Schirmer Ⅰ test (SⅠT), corneal fluorescein sodium staining (FL) score, ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score before and after treatment, and adverse event incidence were compared between the two groups. Clinical efficacy was also evaluated.

RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the TCM syndrome scores (individual and total), FL scores, and OSDI scores were significantly lower in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), with the thumbtack needling group showing greater reductions than the conventional treatment group (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, NIBUTf, NIBUTav, and SⅠT were significantly increased in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), with the thumbtack needling group showing greater improvements than the conventional treatment group (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions was 5.6% (2/36) in the thumbtack needling group, which was lower than 11.1% (4/36) in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 97.2% (35/36) in the thumbtack needling group, which was significantly higher than 83.3% (30/36) in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Thumbtack needling combined with sodium hyaluronate eye drops could effectively improve tear film stability, tear secretion volume, and corneal epithelial damage in patients with moderate-to-severe dry eye. This combined therapy demonstrates favorable clinical efficacy and a lower incidence of adverse reactions.

PMID:41839595 | DOI:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20250206-0002