針灸合併毛刺法治療帶狀疱疹後神經炎病案討論

Acupuncture Combined with Skin Needling Treatment for Post-herpetic Neuralgia: A Case Report

初次感染水痘帶狀疱疹病毒 (varicella-zoster virus，VZV)，就是俗稱的水痘(chickenpox)之後，VZV 會潛伏在背根神經節，若經再次活化則稱為帶狀疱疹（herpes zoster 或shingles）。現代醫學對帶狀疱疹的治療已是十分的進步，但對其所引發的併發症仍困擾著許多患者，其中帶狀疱疹後神經痛（postherpetic neuralgia，PHN）即是一種，即使有許多藥物和治療方法，卻仍有超過50% 的病人無法緩解疼痛。本文為一位76歲男性，在帶狀疱疹治療後持續有麻感五個月，在西醫治療無明顯改善後改往本院針灸科治療，治療以局部毛刺為主，加上體針治療，並以VAS為評量指標，由8分降為1分。

Initial infection of varicella zoster virus (varicella-zoster virus, VZV), is commonly known as varicella (chickenpox). After chickenpox infection, VZV is lurking in the dorsal root ganglia. If these VZV are activated again, the manifestation of them is called herpes zoster (HZ or shingles). Modern medical treatment for herpes zoster is very progressive, but the complications of HZ, such as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), still plague many patients. Even there are many drugs and treatment methods, more than 50 percent of patients still cannot ease the pain caused by HZ. The present case described was a 76-year-old male who had suffered from post-herpetic neuralgia for about five months. His chief complaint in relation to post-herpetic neuralgia was numbness sensation. The condition did not improve after Western medical treatment. Therefore, he came to our acupuncture outpatient department. Local skin needling combined with acupuncture were prescribed to relieve the pain. The introduction and discussion of related topics is presented.