Objective: To explore the relatively efficacious acupuncture treatment for chloasma, to promote its clinical application in medical settings.
Methods: Forty cases were randomly divided into a Feiteng Bafa group (FB) and a selecting points based on differentiation of syndromes group (DS), 20 cases in each group and acupoints. Hegu (LI 4), acupoints in close proximity to chloasma and according to differentiation of syndrome were selected in DS group. The acupoints selected according to Feiteng Bafa principles were adhered in FB group. After two treatment courses, the effectiveness rate, the pro-and post-size and pro-and post-color of the chloasma area were compared between the two groups.
Results: The size of the chloasma area decreased, and the color of the chloasma area became lighter in both groups (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), and the FB group was better than the DS group (both P < 0.05). The effectiveness rate in the FB group was 95.0%, better than that of 70.0% in the DS group.
Conclusion: The acupuncture treatment adhered to Feiteng Bafa is better than the simple routine acupuncture for chloasma.