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Background: With the increasing popularity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by the global community, how to teach basic knowledge of TCM to international students and improve the teaching quality are important issues for teachers of TCM. The present study was to analyze the perceptions from both students and teachers on how to improve TCM learning internationally. Methods: A cross-sectional national survey was conducted at 23 universities/colleges across China. A structured, self-reported on-line questionnaire was administered to 34 Chinese teachers who taught TCM course in English and to 1016 international undergraduates who were enrolled in the TCM course in China between 2017 and 2021. Results: Thirty-three (97.1%) teachers and 900 (88.6%) undergraduates agreed Chinese culture should be fully integrated into TCM courses. All teachers and 944 (92.9%) undergraduates thought that TCM had important significance in the clinical practice. All teachers and 995 (97.9%) undergraduates agreed that modern research of TCM is valuable. Thirty-three (97.1%) teachers and 959 (94.4%) undergraduates thought comparing traditional medicine in different countries with TCM can help the students better understand TCM. Thirty-two (94.1%) teachers and 962 (94.7%) undergraduates agreed on the use of practical teaching method with case reports. From the perceptions of the undergraduates, the top three beneficial learning styles were practice (34.3%), teacher's lectures (32.5%), case studies (10.4%). The first choice of learning mode was attending to face-to-face teaching (82.3%). The top three interesting contents were acupuncture (75.5%), Chinese herbal medicine (63.8%), and massage (55.0%). Conclusion: To improve TCM learning among international undergraduates majoring in conventional medicine, integration of Chinese culture into TCM course, comparison of traditional medicine in different countries with TCM, application of the teaching method with case reports, and emphasization of clinical practice as well as modern research on TCM should be fully considered.
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OBJECTIVE: To verify the effect of warm acupuncture combined with western medicine in patients with acute exacerbation chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) with phlegm-turbid obstructing of the lung. METHODS: Ninety patients with AECOPD were randomly divided into a western medicine group, a warm acupuncture group and a sham acupuncture group, 30 cases in each group. Routine treatment according to the Global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) guidelines was used in the western medicine group. On the basis of the routine treatment, the warm acupuncture was applied at Fenglong (ST 40), Feishu (BL 13), Zusanli (ST 36) and other acupoints in the warm acupuncture group. In the sham acupuncture group, non-acupoints were taken on the basis of conventional treatment, and superficial acupuncture was performed for 1-3 mm, once a day for 2 weeks. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, cough and sputum assessment questionnaire (CASA), COPD assessment test (CAT), and the change of TCM syndrome score were observed before and after treatment in all groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC in each group were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05), there was no significant difference among groups after treatment (P>0.05). The CASA score, CAT score and TCM syndrome score in each group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The change of the scores before and after treatment in the warm acupuncture group was higher than that in the sham acupuncture group and the western medicine group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the sham acupuncture group and the western medicine group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Warm acupuncture has a significant effect on the improvement of symptoms in patients with AECOPD with phlegm-turbid obstructing of the lung.