The aim of this research was to analyze recent developments of auricular acupuncture in China during the past 10 years, from 2007 to 2016. The articles evaluated related to auricular acupuncture studies published in the last 10 years, from 2007 to 2016. The articles were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) full-text journal database and from Tsinghua the Chinese Knowledge net. The history of auricular acupuncture, the overall status of the research, and the current use of standardization were analyzed and summarized. The literature research of auricular acupuncture in China revealed that there was a high frequency of publications over the last 10 years. Development of more auricular acupuncture research teams, improvement of the level and quality of the research, and basic and clinical research investigations on auricular acupuncture in China have demonstrated continuous improvement in the past 10 years. It is hoped that this research will continue into the future, offering greater contributions to the development of auricular acupuncture for the health care of human beings.

Objective This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of various levels of moxibustion smoke concentration (MSC), represented by particulate matter 10mm (PM 10 ), on pain and motor dysfunction in patients with stage 1 post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS). Materials and Methods In this multi-center, sham-controlled, single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT), a total of 140 eligible patients with stage 1 post-stroke SHS will be recruited from March 2022 to February 2023 and randomly allocated to five groups in a ratio of 1:1:1:1:1. Moxibustion, in addition to standard medical care, will be applied to subjects in all groups. No acupoints on the affected upper limb will be utilized. Moxibustion smoke therapy, with varying levels of MSC, will be applied to the five groups as follows: (A) sham control group, (B) zero MSC group, (C) low MSC group, (D) medium MSC group, and (E) high MSC group. Patients in each group will be treated for 20 minutes per session, with five sessions each week, over a course of six weeks, with a total follow-up interval of eight weeks. The primary outcome measure will be a visual analog scale (VAS) assessment of the intensity of regionalized pain in the affected upper limb. Secondary outcome measures will include scoring on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity Scale (FMA-UE), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the measurement of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP). All participants will be evaluated before treatment, during treatment (ie, at two weeks and four weeks), immediately after concluding treatment (ie, at six weeks) and at two weeks post-treatment (ie, at eight weeks). Intention-to-treat analysis will be applied. Trial Registration Number ChiCTR2100043076.

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Background: Post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (PS-SHS), a common neurological comorbidity after stroke episodes, poses a grave threat on patients' functional recovery. Preliminary trials have demonstrated that the acupuncture and moxibustion treatment, including a dermal acupuncture tapping method known as plum blossom needling (PBN) can improve pain and motor dysfunctions in patients with PS-SHS. However, there are few reports describing simultaneous moxibustion treatment in combination with PBN. Hence, a novel plum blossom needle device with mild moxibustion (PBNMM) was developed to evaluate its potential efficacy and safety in patients with stage 1 PS-SHS. Materials and Methods: This multicenter, sham-controlled, randomized controlled trial (RCT) will recruit 102 eligible patients with stage 1 PS-SHS from three clinical centers, randomly allocated in a ratio of 1:1:1 to the PBNMM group, PBNMM with no moxa smoke (PBNMM-NMS) group and sham control group. Patients in each group will receive a 30-minute treatment once per day for 4 weeks, with 5 consecutive sessions per week, for a total of 20 sessions. The primary outcome measure will be defined as the decreased scores from baseline in the visual analog scale (VAS) assessment at week 4. Secondary outcome measures will include scores on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity Scale (FMA-UE), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) records. All outcomes will be evaluated at baseline and weeks 4, 5, 6 and 10, and the intention-to-treat analysis will be applied. Conclusion:This study aims to provide robust evidence for the efficacy and safety of the PBNMM for PS-SHS treatment, as well as the specific impact of moxibustion smoke itself in dealing with PS-SHS.