Ultrasound-Guided Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture as an Adjunct to Stroke Rehabilitation: A 12-Month Nonrandomized Cohort Study

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the 12-month functional results of patients who received additional ultrasound-guided Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture in addition to traditional stroke rehabilitation. Methods There were 320 persons with post-stroke motor disability in this single-center, nonrandomized cohort, 160 in each group. In addition to conventional acupuncture and therapy, one group also received Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture guided by ultrasound. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 1, 6, and 12 months. The main comparison was the 12-month Brunnstrom score, adjusted for its baseline value, age, sex, and time since stroke. Results The adjusted 12-month Brunnstrom difference favored additional treatment by 0.70 points (95% confidence interval, 0.64–0.77; p < .001). Adjusted differences were 0.82 (0.75–0.89) for manual muscle testing, 3.59 (3.07–4.10) for the Berg Balance Scale, and 5.95 (2.64–9.25) for stroke-specific quality of life. Cerebral blood flow and fractional anisotropy were higher, whereas mean transit time and diffusion-weighted lesion volume were lower. Events of interest were recorded in 8/160 versus 19/160 patients (adjusted risk ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.19–0.91). Conclusions Higher functional scores at 12 months were linked to more treatment. These results encourage additional testing of the combined protocol; a causal interpretation is not possible due to treatment self-selection and residual confounding.