[Different Warm Sensations May Induce Different Therapeutic Effects in Primary Dysmenorrhea Patients Undergoing Moxibustion Treatment Based on Propensity Score: A Prospective Cohort Study].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness difference between the "heat-sensitive" sensation and conventional warm sensation of moxibustion stimulation of Guanyuan (GV 4) in primary dysmenorrhea (PD) patients. METHODS: Cohort study design was used in the present study. A total of 189 PD patients were divided into heat-sensitive group (n = 148) and conventional warm sensation group (n = 41) according to the patients' subjective feeling to moxibustion stimulation and the sequence of treatment. The Propensity Score Match (PSM)function of SPSS 19.0 software was used to match the patients of the two groups for balancing their baseline data (age, duration of illness, McGill and CMSS scores). Thus, 35 cases in each group were subjected into the analysis at last. Heat-sensitive moxibustion was applied to Guanyuan (GV 4) for 40 min beginning 5 days before dysmenorrheal attack, once daily for (7 ± 2) days in one menstrual cycle, and for 3 menstrual cycles for heat-sensitive group, wheras routine moxibustion for conventional warm sensation group. The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) composed of pain rating index (PRI), visual analogue scale (VAS) and present pain intensity (PPI) and COX Menstrual Symptom Scale (CMSS) containing 18 items (0 - 4 grades/item) were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of moxibustion treatment. Follow-up visit was conducted 3 months after the treatment. RESULTS: Compared to pre-treatment, MPQ and CMSS scores were significantly decreased in both groups after the treatment (P<0.01), and the effects of heat-sensitive group were significantly superior to those of conventional warm sensation group in lowering MPQ and CMSS scores (P<0.01). Follow-up survey showed that both MPQ and CMSS scores were still considerably lower in the heat-sensitive group than in the conventional warm sensation group (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The heat-sensitive moxibustion is superior to conventional warm moxibustion in improving symptoms in primary dysmenorrhea patients.