Effect of ultrasound-guided targeted needling of the cricopharyngeal muscle on post-stroke cricopharyngeal dysphagia: a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Swallowing disorders are a common complication after stroke. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture of the cricopharyngeal muscle in the treatment of cricopharyngeal disorders and to explore a new method that is safe, intuitive, precise, and effective. METHODS: This was a multicenter randomized controlled trial. One hundred and forty-eight patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeal muscle relaxation dysphagia who met the criteria at three hospitals were randomly divided into a control group (n=74) and a test group (n=74). The control group received conventional swallowing training with basic medication (including basic training and feeding training), and the test group received ultrasound-guided targeted acupuncture treatment of the cricopharyngeal muscle in addition to the treatment of the control group for 4 weeks. Patients in both groups used VFSS, WST, SSA, SWAL-QOL and EAT-10, PAS and NRS 2002 before and after treatment. DISCUSSION: This trial used ultrasound-guided acupuncture to treat cricopharyngeal muscle loss relaxation, not only to explore a new method that is safe, intuitive, precise and effective, but also to provide more high-quality experimental evidence for the clinical application of the combination of Chinese and Western medicine. Trial registration: China Clinical Trials Registry ChiCTR2200063337. registered on September 5, 2022.