Objective: To observe the effect of Lingnan fire needling combined with artificial tears in the treatment of xerophthalmia.
Methods: A total of 86 xerophthalmia patients were equally and randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The patients of both groups were received treatment with 0.1% sodium hyaluronate eye drops in their eyes 3 times a day, one drop in each eye. In addition, the patients of treatment group also treated by Lingnan fire needling on bilateral Shaoze (SI1), Neichengqi and beside lacrimal puncta once a week. The treatment was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks. Before and after 4 weeks of treatment, the clinical efficacy, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, ocular symptom score, OSDI score, fluorescence staining （FL） score, schemer I, tear menisci height, tear film break-up time (BUT) and eye redness index were recorded and evaluated.
Results: After the treatment, self-comparison showed that the symptom score, OSDI score, FL score and eye redness index were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and BUT was notably increased in both groups (P<0.05) in comparison with their own pre-treatment. The tear menisci height in the treatment group was higher than that before the treatment (P<0.05). Comparison between the two groups showed that the symptom score, OSDI score and eye redness index were obviously lower in the treatment group than in the control group (P<0.05), whereas the BUT and tear menisci height were evidently higher (P<0.05). The total effective rate of the treatment group was 84.88% (73/86), better than 76.74% (66/86) of the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Lingnan fire needling combined with 0.1% sodium hyaluronate eye drops is more effective than simple sodium hyaluronate eye drops for xerophthalmia patients, with significant curative effect and no adverse reactions.
目的：评价岭南火针联合人工泪液治疗干眼症的临床疗效。方法：将86例干眼症患者随机分为治疗组和对照组，每组43例。对照组双眼滴用0.1%玻璃酸钠滴眼液，双眼每次各1滴，每日3次，连续治疗4周。治疗组在对照组基础上给予岭南火针治疗，取双侧少泽、内承泣、泪小点旁，每周治疗1次，连续治疗4周。治疗前后评价临床疗效及视力、眼压、眼部症状评分、眼表疾病指数(OSDI)评分、眼表荧光染色（FL）评分、泪膜破裂时间(BUT)、泪液分泌量(Schimer Ⅰ)的变化，以及使用Keratograph 眼表综合分析仪评价治疗前后泪河高度、眼红指数的变化。结果：与本组治疗前比较，两组治疗后双眼眼部症状评分、OSDI评分、FL评分、眼红指数均降低(P<0.05)，BUT均升高(P<0.05)；治疗组泪河高度较治疗前升高(P<0.05)。治疗后与对照组比较，治疗组双眼眼部症状评分、OSDI评分、眼红指数均降低(P<0.05)，BUT、泪河高度均升高(P<0.05)。对照组有效率为76.74%(66/86)，治疗组有效率为84.88%(73/86)，治疗组临床疗效高于对照组(P<0.05)。结论：岭南火针联合0.1%玻璃酸钠滴眼液可有效治疗干眼症，在改善干眼症状评分、OSDI评分、BUT、泪河高度、眼红指数等方面优于单纯玻璃酸钠滴眼液。.
Keywords: Lingnan fire needling; Randomized controlled trial; Sodium hyaluronate eye drops; Xerophthalmia.