Effect of Scalp Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation on Neurodevelopment in Patients with Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy

Objective To evaluate and analyze the effect of combined scalp acupuncture and Bobath training on neurodevelopment in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.Methods Fifty patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in peri-natal stage were enrolled since 2008 to 2010,and they were all under 12 months and finished the whole 4-month treatment with complete medical history.The Gesell Developmental Quotient(DQ) and head imaging were adopted in evaluation.Results After treatment,the DQ values of social adaption,gross motor,fine motor,language,personal intercourse were increased significantly(P0.01).Regarding head imaging,63.0% of 27 with widened longitudinal fissure were cured;62.5% of 32 with widened lateral fissure were cured;68.3% of 41 with widened subarachnoid cavity were cured;2 out 4 with agenesis of corpus callosum were improved;no improvement was shown in 11 cases with periventricular leukomalacia,a case of cerebellar malacia and atrophy,and a case of widened cistern magna;7 cases with frontoparietal malacia and 2 with basal ganglia malacia were improved after treatment;25.0% of 4 cases with retarded myelinization were cured.Conclusion Combined scalp acupuncture and Bobath training can enhance the neurodevelopment in patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy,manifested by improved intelligence,language ability,motor function and frontoparietal development.