The efficacy of Fire dragon cupping combined with Shaofu Zhuyu decoction in treating primary dysmenorrhea with cold coagulation and blood stasis

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Fire Dragon Cupping (FDC) combined with Shaofu Zhuyu Decoction (SFZYD) in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea (PD) with cold coagulation and blood stasis (CCBS).

Methodology: A retrospective case-control analysis was conducted at the Department of Gynecology, Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). All participants were selected from a registry of PD CCBS patients who received treatment between October 2022 to May 2024. Patients were retrospectively assigned according to the treatment received to either the SFZYD group or the FDC + SFZYD group. The primary outcome of interest was the TCM syndrome score. The secondary outcomes included changes in visual analogue scale (VAS), uterine artery hemodynamic status, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) levels.

Results: This study included a total of 112 patients, 54 patients in the SFZYD group and 58 patients in the FDC & SFZYD group. After treatment, the TCM syndrome score and VAS score in the PDC & SFZYD group were significantly lower than those in the SFZYD group (P<0.05); The pulsatility index (PI) and the resistance index (RI) in the FDC & SFZYD group were both lower than those in the SFZYD group (P<0.05); Compared with SFZYD alone, ET‑1 decreased and NO increased in the FDC + SFZYD group (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The combination of FDC and SFZYD can more effectively reduce the pain level of PD patients with CCBS, alleviate clinical symptoms, regulate the hemodynamic status of uterine arteries and the levels of ET-1 and NO than SFZYD alone.