The Effects of Acupuncture Combined with Auricular Acupressure in the Treatment of Chloasma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure in chloasma treatment. METHODS: A prospective, randomized controlled assessor-blind clinical trial was performed and 135 patients were assigned into acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure (A), acupuncture (B), and control (C) groups, each with 45 patients. For groups A and B, body and facial acupuncture were applied for 2 months. For group A, auricular acupressure was applied concomitantly. For group C, vitamins C and E were prescribed for 3 months. Primary outcome measure was the therapeutic effects while secondary outcome measure was safety evaluation. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 95.6%, 91.1%, and 75.6% for groups A, B, and C (P < 0.01 between groups A and C; P < 0.05 between groups B and C). The posttreatment estradiol (E(2)) levels in groups A and B were significantly decreased while the progesterone (P(4)) levels were significantly increased compared to pretreatment (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, resp.). The differences were significant compared to group C (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, resp.). No adverse events occurred. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure could significantly increase the therapeutic effect of chloasma treatment and could be better than vitamins C and E.