Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture therapies administered in combination with swallowing training on the quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients with dysphagia after surgery. METHODS: Seventy-one postoperative patients with laryngeal cancer participated in this study. The patients diagnosed with swallowing dysfunction by video fluoroscopic swallowing examination (VFSE) were randomly divided into experimental group (n = 36) and control group (n = 35). Patients in both groups were provided swallowing training and rehabilitation consultation. Patients in the experimental group were additionally provided with acupuncture therapies. All patients were evaluated using VFSE and MD Anderson dysphagia inventory (MDADI) and Quality of Life Questionnaire-core 30 (QLQ-c30) score immediately after surgery and three months later. RESULTS: The effective rate of 97.1% (n = 35) and the complete remission rate of 36.1% (n = 13) in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group of 60% (n = 21) and 14.3% (n = 5) (P < 0.01). The scores of VFSE, MDADI and QLQ-c 30 in the experimental group and the control group at three months after therapies were significantly improved compared with those before therapies (P < 0.05). The scores of VFSE, MDADI and QLQ-c30 in the experimental group at three months after therapies were significantly improved compared with the control group. The improvement in the intervention group was significantly better than that in the control group. There were no adverse reactions in two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture therapies combined with swallowing training can improve the swallowing function and the quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients with dysphagia after surgery.