ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Stratified Analysis Based on VAS Scores to Assess the Effect of Acupoint Application Therapy in Children with Chronic Coughs of Varying Severity-A randomized controlled study
Danxia Ni 1
Liyun Zhong 1
Xinping Liu 1
Wenjing Lai 1
Jingyi Mai 1
Weiyi Dai 1
Meifeng Bd 2
Lifang Lei 2
1. Twelfth Guangzhou City People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China, Guangdong Province, 510620
2. Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
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Abstract
Background: This study explores the efficacy of acupoint application therapy in children with chronic coughs of varying severity. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, one hundred children with chronic cough were allocated to either a control group (n = 50) receiving conventional bronchodilator and inhaled corticosteroid therapy, or an observation group (n = 50) receiving conventional therapy plus acupoint application. Outcomes including cough symptom scores, Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), and visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain were assessed at baseline and after a 2-week intervention. The primary analysis employed multivariate regression to determine the independent effect of the intervention, adjusting for baseline scores and allergy history. Results: After treatment, both groups showed significant within-group improvements (all P < 0.001). However, inter-group comparisons revealed that the observation group achieved superior outcomes, with significantly lower post-treatment daytime cough scores (2.46±0.28 vs. 2.68±0.24, P<0.001), nighttime cough scores (2.14±0.36 vs. 3.04±0.54, P<0.001), and VAS scores (3.89±1.35 vs. 5.52±1.87, P<0.001), alongside a higher LCQ score (15.61±3.22 vs. 14.45±3.17, P=0.034). Multivariate analysis confirmed acupoint application as an independent factor associated with these improvements (adjusted mean difference for daytime cough: -0.21, P<0.001) and a higher treatment response (adjusted odds ratio: 4.72, P=0.007). Furthermore, within the observation group, patients with severe baseline pain exhibited a greater magnitude of improvement across all scores compared to those with mild pain (ΔVAS: 3.39 vs. 1.78, P=0.017). The overall response rate was 85% in the observation group versus 81% in the control group (P=0.041). No adverse reactions were reported. Conclusion: Acupoint application therapy is clinically effective in children with chronic coughs, with more pronounced efficacy observed in patients experiencing severe pain.
Summary
Keywords
Acupoint application therapy, Child, chronic cough, Stratified analysis, Visual analogue scale
Received
20 February 2025
Accepted
08 December 2025
Copyright
© 2025 Ni, Zhong, Liu, Lai, Mai, Dai, Bd and Lei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Lifang Lei
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