Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2001 Aug; 21(8): 576-8.

[Clinical study on long-term treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with integrated Traditional Chinese and Western medicine]

Cao TM, Han HN, Duan YC.

208th Hospital of PLA, Changchun 130062.

OBJECTIVE: To seek for the new method of integrated traditional Chinese and western medical treatment (TCM-WM) for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to control the disease development, shorten the therapeutic course and reduce disability rate. METHODS: Patients of AS enrolled in this study were 106 patients in group A, who were persistently treated with TCM-WM for over 10 months, 48 patients in group B treated with western medicine and 34 in group C treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. They were followed-up for 2 years. RESULTS: (1) Short-term effect: the markedly effective rate in the three groups was 73.58%, 47.92% and 5.88% respectively, and the total effective rate was 96.23%, 87.50% and 41.18% respectively. The comparisons of group A to group B and C showed significant difference, the effect in group A was superior to that in group B and group C (chi 2 = 10.58, P < 0.01 and chi 2 = 67.76, P < 0.01 respectively). (2) Results of 2-year follow-up: the recurrence rate in group A was 18.37% (9/49), it was insignificantly different from that in group B (7/23 = 30.43%, chi 2 = 1.32, P > 0.05), but significantly different from that in group C (8/12 = 66.67%, chi 2 = 11.19, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Long-term TCM-WM therapy, which concentrated on the advantages of traditional Chinese and western medicine, was a practical method in treating AS with reliable effect, few side-reaction, therefore, is worth spreading.