Clinical Study on Combined Acupuncture and Psychological Desensitization Therapy for Anxiety due to Heroin Addiction / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of combined acupuncture and psychological desensitization therapy for anxiety in those with heroin addiction.Methods:All 90 cases were randomly allocated into a treatment group (45 cases) and a control group (45 cases).Cases in the treatment group received 30 min of combined acupuncture and psychological desensitization therapy for each treatment,twice a week and 8 weeks in total,whereas cases in the control group received no treatment.After that,the anxiety score and state were observed.In addition,the mental state prior to and after cue-elicited heroin craving was evaluated.Results:The total and standard scores of anxiety in the treatment group were significantly reduced compared to the control group (P＜0.05),coupled with a significant reduction of heroin craving (P＜0.01).Conclusion:Combined acupuncture and psychological desensitization can alleviate anxiety and inhibit the short-term heroin craving.