Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory condition with significant global health and socioeconomic burdens. Conventional pharmacotherapy often has limitations, driving interest in complementary approaches like acupuncture. However, heterogeneous protocols hinder reproducibility. This study evaluated a standardized, innovative acupuncture protocol integrating strong manual stimulation at specific acupoints with infrared irradiation for AR. Methods In this randomized, assessor-blinded, controlled trial, 120 patients were equally separated into a study group or a control group. The former adopted oral loratadine for 14 days. The latter received a 14-session intervention combining acupuncture at Tongtian (BL7) and Dazhu (BL11) with infrared irradiation. Primary outcomes included the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS), Total Non-Nasal Symptom Score (TNNSS), as well as a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes were the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) score, serum IgE levels, eosinophil (EOS) counts, serum levels of IL-4, IL-6 as well as IFN- γ as well as adverse events. Results Relative to the control group, the study group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in TNSS, TNNSS, and VAS scores at all post-treatment and follow-up assessments (mid-treatment, end-of-treatment, 1-month, and 3-month follow-up; all p 0.05). Improvements in RQLQ scores were also significantly greater in the study group at all time points (all p 0.05). Furthermore, the study group showed more pronounced decreases in serum IgE levels, peripheral blood EOS counts as well as serum levels of IL-4, IL-6 and IFN- γ (all p 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions (e.g., drowsiness, dry mouth) presented significantly lower in the study group ( p 0.05). Conclusion A standardized acupuncture protocol combining strong stimulation at BL7 and BL11 with infrared irradiation is significantly more effective and safer than loratadine monotherapy for managing AR. It provides superior and sustained relief of nasal and systemic symptoms, greater improvement in quality of life, more effective modulation of allergic-immunological markers and inflammatory factors, and a better safety profile. This integrated approach represents a promising non-pharmacological treatment option.
Fan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.