Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The present protocol describes the specific process and efficacy of the acupoint application combined with ear plaster therapy for sleep disorders in a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including medical devices, selection of acupoints, operating methods, and posttreatment care.

Our research focus on treatment of sleep disorders in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD through the accumulation of acute point obligation and the ear plaster therapy. We aim to investigate further this through traditional Chinese medicine techniques can effectively improve the symptoms of physical signs of patients. Our protocol also needs to add clinical data on whether acute point obligation combined with ear plaster therapy can improve symptoms in the acute chronic obstructive pulmonary and the incorporated clinic data.

Our results provide an effective and a simple treatment that can be applied to a wide range of diseases compared to the otherwise effects of modern medications and the high cost and the ineffective of other specific treatments. To begin, prepare all the required Chinese herbal medicines and other items, such as acupoint patches, magnetic treatment plaster, sterile cotton swabs, et cetera. Take 30 grams each of Sinapis alba Linnaeus, Euphorbia kansui, and 10 grams of Asarum sieboldii Miq.

After grinding the mixture, transfer the powder to a plastic bag for later use. Before treatment, prepare a paste of the herbal powder with ginger extract. Then place the paste on a curved plate for application.

Next, create a comfortable, quiet, and clean environment for the patient. Ask the patient to sit upright with shoulders relaxed and arms resting naturally on the knees. Then pull the curtains in the treatment room to ensure patient privacy and prevent them from catching a cold.

Recheck the patient's details, including name, gender, age, and inpatient number. After washing and disinfecting hands with medical hand disinfectant, put on medical disposable sterilization rubber gloves. Select CV 22 on the patient's anterior cervical region and bilateral BL 13 on the back for auricular acupuncture.

For ear plaster therapy, select CO 14, CO 16, TF 4, and AT 4. Use tweezers to clamp 75%alcohol cotton balls to disinfect the patient's acupoints. Clean the binaural CO 14, CO 16, TF 4, AT 4, CV 22, and bilateral BL 13 from the inside to the outside, centering on the acupoint with a range of five centimeters.

For acupuncture application, take the prepared medicine from the curved plate and divide it into three equal parts. Then use a tongue depressor to apply the ointment in a regular pattern to the center of the acupoint patches. After that, fix the prepared acupoint patches to the Tiantu and Feishu points.

For ear plaster therapy, let the patient sit and stabilize one side of the oracle with one hand. Then, using tweezers, apply the magnetic treatment pill at CO 14, CO 16, TF 4, and AT 4, and repeat for the other ear. Tell the patient to secure the acupoint patches and keep the treatment area as dry and clean as possible to avoid dislodging them.

Gently press the pill clockwise until the patient feels sensations like acid, numbness, bloating, pain, and heat, ensuring it is tolerable. Press auricular acupoints for five minutes each morning, noon, night, and before bed. The total PSQI score of time to fall asleep, sleep quality, sleep time, sleep disorders, and daytime function were significantly reduced after treatment compared to before with statistically significant differences.

There was no statistically significant improvement in sleep efficiency after treatment, with a P value of 0.056. The application of medications for sleeping did not change significantly after treatment, with a P value of 0.103.