BackgroundAcupuncture is an effective complement to pharmacological therapy in the alleviation of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). It has mild or no side effects; however, a minimum of 3 months of therapy is required to guarantee a beneficial outcome. This study investigates why patients insist on acupuncture therapy to aid recuperation.MethodsThe study included a purposive sample of 15 participants diagnosed with chronic PID who had received a course of acupuncture therapy at least twice a week for a minimum of 3 months. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed using systematic text condensation.ResultsFour overarching themes were identified from the participants’ reasons for insisting on lengthy, but in their view important, acupuncture courses. The four overarching themes were: (1) the patients’ characteristics, including pregnancy aspiration and the fear of serious gynecological disease; (2) the patient–practitioner relationship, including the acupuncturist’s attitude towards the patients and the explanation of the disease from a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) perspective; (3) the characteristics of acupuncture, including the diversification of treatment modes, the synthetical effect, and no side-effects; and (4) the clinical environment, including the exchange of experience between patients and the well-equipped setting.ConclusionsThere were mixed reasons for patients diagnosed with chronic PID maintaining acupuncture treatments. Knowledge and understanding about the acupuncture-disease relationship were conducive to the patients’ preference for acupuncture. Acupuncture as a complement to Western medicine should be further developed while maintaining these positive features. Participants reported feeling hope, confidence, and a sense of responsibility for their treatment during the process, although the treatments did not always have the expected outcome.

【摘要】目的：观察针刺为主治疗乳腺增生病的治疗效果。方法：共 60 例乳腺增生病患者，随机分为两 组，每组 30 例。治疗组采用针刺结合电磁疗法，对照组口服三苯氧胺。治疗后检测黄体期血清雌二醇 (Estradiol， E 2 )、 孕酮(Progesterone， P)水平的变化。 结果： 治疗组和对照组总有效率分别为 90.0%及 93.3%， 两组差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05)。治疗后两组血清E 2 水平均下降，而P水平均上升，两组治疗后E 2 、P值 与治疗前比较差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.05)，而两组在治疗前后组间比较差异无统计学意义。结论：针 刺结合电磁疗能调整乳腺增生病患者紊乱的下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴内分泌功能，恢复乳腺组织正常的增生-复旧过程，并且其临床疗效与西药水平相当。 【关键词】针刺疗法；纤维囊性乳腺瘤；乳腺疾病；雌二醇；孕酮 【中图分类号】R246.2 【文献标识码】A 【Abstract】Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture on hyperplasia of mammary glands. Methods: Sixty patients with hyperplasia of mammary glands were randomly divided into 2 groups, the treatment group and the control group, 30 cases in each group. The patients in the treatment group were treated by acupuncture combined with electromagnetic therapy, while the patients in the control group were treated by Tamoxifen. After treatment, the serum estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone (P) levels were detected during luteal phase. Results: The total effective rate of the treatment group was 90.3%, while it was 93.3% in the control group. there was no statistical difference (P>0.05). The E 2 levels decreased, and the P levels increased in the two groups. After treatment, the E 2 and P levels were significantly different from those before in the two groups (P＜0.05). And there was no statistical difference of the E 2 and P levels between the two groups both before and after the treatments. Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with electromagnetic therapy can regulate the hypothalamicpituitary-ovarian axis' function, and can repair normal process from hyperplasia to involution of the mammary glands. According to our study, the effect of acupuncture combine with electromagnetic therapy was almost the same with the western medicine.