The therapeutic effect of acupuncture on neurocognitive disorders under the concept of outcome based education

Abstract

Background

The neurocognitive disorder is a common neuropsychological disease characterized by impaired cognitive function, attention deficit, and memory loss. With the aging of the population and lifestyle changes, the prevalence of neurocognitive disorders is on the rise, seriously affecting patients’ quality of life. Acupuncture therapy, an essential part of traditional Chinese medicine, has shown potential therapeutic effects in treating neurocognitive disorders.

Subjects and Methods

The outcome based education concept was incorporated into acupuncture therapy to explore its therapeutic effect on neurocognitive disorders. The study included 50 neurocognitive-impaired patients, 25 of whom received acupuncture therapy under the outcome based education concept as an experimental group. The other 25 served as a control group and received traditional Chinese acupuncture treatment. The experiment lasted three months, and the 3-minute Delirium Diagnostic Scale (3D-CAM) was used to measure the level of consciousness, mental clarity, attention, and delirium characteristics.

Results

After receiving acupuncture therapy under the outcome based education concept, most of the patients in the experimental group had a lower risk of delirium, and their attention, thinking, and consciousness levels were significantly improved. Patients in the control group generally had a higher risk of delirium, difficulty concentrating, and memory loss.

Conclusions

The study proposed that the outcome based education concept in acupuncture therapy has a more noticeable effect on treating neurocognitive disorders. At the same time, this study’s results will help reveal the mechanism of acupuncture therapy in treating neurocognitive disorders and provide guidance for clinical practice.

Acknowledgement

The research is supported by the Key R&D project of Hainan Province (No.zdyf2019191).