The Efficacy of Preventive Moxibustion in the Prevention of Poststroke Depression in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Objective: This study aims to observe the differences in the Hamilton-17 scale (HAMD-17) scores, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, and the incidence of post-stroke depression (PSD) among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who received preventive moxibustion at the Baihui, Dazhui, and Taichong points. Methods: This was a prospective randomized controlled trial involving 200 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage recruited from Lianyungang Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine between January 2022 and March 2025. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups using a random number table: the treatment group ( n = 100, 56 males and 44 females) and the control group ( n = 100, 54 males and 46 females). All patients in both groups received conventional treatment for cerebral hemorrhage. Additionally, the treatment group received moxibustion at the Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), and Taichong (LV 3) acupoints. The NIHSS and the HAMD-17 scores were assessed in both groups at baseline, after 4 weeks of treatment, and during a 12-week follow-up. Finally, the differences between the two groups were compared, and the incidence of PSD was analyzed. Results: At the 4-week and 12-week follow-up assessments, the NIHSS scores in the treatment group were significantly lower compared with those in the control group. Similarly, the HAMD-17 scores of the treatment group were notably lower than those of the control group, and all these differences reached statistical significance ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, at both the 4-week and 12-week follow-up points, the incidence of PSD in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the intergroup difference in incidence rates was also statistically significant ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Preventive moxibustion applied at the Baihui (GV20), Dazhui (GV14), and Taichong (LR3) acupoints in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage can promote the recovery of neurological function and reduce the incidence of PSD.