Successfully treated recalcitrant atopic eczema with acupoint autohemotherapy: A case report and hypothesized mechanism of the therapy
Zhao B, Chen Y, Liao S, Zheng J, Yan S, Zhang D · Journal of Integrative Medicine · 2022 March
DOI 10.1016/j.joim.2022.01.003
Objective
To investigate the effectiveness of acupoint autohemotherapy at bilateral Zusanli and Xuehai for treating recalcitrant atopic eczema.
Conclusions
Acupoint autohemotherapy resolved the patient's atopic eczema symptoms, normalized her immunoglobulin E level, and prevented relapse during six months of follow-up, suggesting potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects as a complementary treatment.
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Insights
Repeated injections of a patient’s own blood into selected acupuncture points coincided with complete, sustained clearance of treatment-resistant atopic eczema.
A single adult woman with longstanding treatment-resistant atopic eczema received injections of her own blood at acupuncture points on both legs associated with Zusanli and Xuehai. Treatment was administered weekly initially and then every other week over the remaining treatment period, followed by clinical and blood-marker monitoring after treatment.
Her eczema symptoms resolved completely by the end of treatment and did not return during follow-up, while immunoglobulin E levels returned to the normal range. The authors proposed that repeated local inflammatory responses to the blood injections may have produced broader immune-regulating and anti-inflammatory effects.
