Acupuncture combined with moxibustion therapy for acne vulgaris among adolescents: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To assess the efficacy of acupuncture combined with moxibustion compared to standard medical treatments for alleviating symptoms of moderate to severe acne vulgaris in adolescents.

Methods: One hundred adolescents with moderate to severe acne vulgaris randomly assigned to the control group received conventional medications, and the experimental group received acupuncture with moxibustion therapies three times weekly. Both groups received interventions for four weeks. The main outcome was assessed by grading and counting inflammatory lesions, and the secondary outcomes were assessed by the Skindex-16 scale in both groups before and after the intervention period.

Results: Both groups demonstrated significant improvement following treatment (p < 0.001). The experimental group showed significantly greater improvement in outcomes in the Skindex-16 emotional and total scores (p < 0.001), as well as functional scores (p = 0.001), while no significant differences were observed between the groups in symptom scores (p = 0.079) or lesion counts (p = 0.239). The percentage of improvement showed greater reductions across all measured outcomes in the experimental group, with statistically significant differences observed in most domains.

Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion effectively improve both skin lesions and psychosocial well-being in adolescents with acne vulgaris.