Efficacy of acupotomy in chronic pharyngitis: A retrospective analysis.

Researchers in China reviewed medical records of patients who received acupotomy treatment for chronic pharyngitis (persistent throat inflammation) between January 2023 and December 2024. Acupotomy is a technique that combines traditional acupuncture with a small knife-needle to release tight tissue. Patients received three treatment sessions, and doctors measured their symptoms and throat appearance before treatment and one month after the final session. The study found significant improvements across multiple measures. Patients reported reduced throat dryness, itching, pain, foreign-body sensation (feeling like something is stuck in the throat), stickiness, and coughing. Physical examination also showed improvements, including reduced throat redness, less swelling of lymph tissue, decreased tissue thickening, and reduced swelling of the throat's lateral bands. All improvements were statistically significant. The researchers considered treatment effective if symptoms decreased by at least 30%, though they didn't report specific effectiveness rates. No major complications were mentioned in the study. However, this research has important limitations. It was retrospective (looking backward at existing records rather than following patients forward), had a small number of participants, and lacked a control group for comparison. The authors acknowledge these limitations and emphasize that larger, well-designed prospective studies are needed before drawing definitive conclusions about acupotomy's effectiveness for chronic pharyngitis. If you're considering acupotomy or acupuncture for throat problems, consult with a licensed acupuncturist or integrative medicine physician who can evaluate your individual situation.

This retrospective analysis evaluated acupotomy efficacy for chronic pharyngitis in patients treated at a Traditional Chinese Medicine Department between January 2023 and December 2024. Following three treatment sessions, patients demonstrated statistically significant symptom improvements at one-month follow-up: pharyngeal itching (MD=-3.06, 95% CI [-4.01 to -2.11], P<0.01), pharyngeal foreign-body sensation (MD=-2.39, 95% CI [-2.65 to -2.13], P<0.01), cough (MD=-2.10, 95% CI [-2.38 to -1.82], P<0.01), pharyngeal adhesiveness (MD=-1.18, 95% CI [-1.41 to -0.95], P<0.01), pharyngeal pain (MD=-1.06, 95% CI [-1.28 to -0.84], P<0.01), and pharyngeal dryness (MD=-0.58, 95% CI [-0.76 to -0.40], P<0.01). Objective signs also improved significantly, including mucosal congestion (MD=-1.27), lymphoid follicular hyperplasia (MD=-1.07), mucosal hypertrophy (MD=-0.54), and pharyngeal lateral cord swelling (MD=-0.46). Treatment effectiveness was defined as ≥30% score reduction. The study's retrospective design, unspecified sample size, and absence of controls limit clinical applicability. Authors appropriately call for prospective, multicenter, controlled trials.