Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture Combined With Acupoint Patching in Treating Chronic Pelvic Pain as a Sequela of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Objective To investigate the efficacy of acupuncture therapy combined with acupoint patching in alleviating chronic pelvic pain, a sequela of pelvic inflammatory disease (SPID-CPP).

Methods A total of 120 SPID-CPP patients attending our hospital between January 2022 and November 2024 were enrolled and randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group, with 60 patients in each group. Both groups received conventional lifestyle guidance and anti-infection therapy. The control group received only acupuncture therapy, while the observation group received acupuncture combined with acupoint patching therapy. The duration of treatment was identical for both groups. The treatment effect, levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil percentage (NEUT), fibrinogen (FIB) level, quality-of-life scores, and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were compared between the experimental and control groups.

Results The treatment efficacy rate of the experimental group was 93.00%, while that of the control group was only 73.33%, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Following therapy, the hs-CRP, WBC, NEUT, and VAS ratings of both the control and experimental groups decreased. Furthermore, findings of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The quality-of-life score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion Acupuncture combined with acupoint patching demonstrates significant efficacy in treating SPID-CPP. This combined therapy effectively reduces pain in SPID-CPP patients, decreases serum levels of inflammatory factors, and significantly improves patients' quality of life.