Clinical Efficacy Observation of Fire Needle Short-term Intensive Treatment on Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Cold-Dampness Constitution Type)

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the short-term clinical efficacy and safety of a 10-day inpatient intensive fire needle treatment regimen on patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) of cold-dampness constitution. Methods: A retrospective cohort study design was adopted. Medical records of NAFLD inpatients from the Hepatology Department of our hospital between September 2023 and September 2025 were collected. Based on treatment records, patients were divided into a fire needle group and a conventional acupuncture group, with 50 cases in each group. The same basic acupoints were selected for both groups (Zusanli, Fenglong, Sanyinjiao, Taichong, Zhongwan). The conventional acupuncture group received treatment once daily; the fire needle group received additional fire needle therapy every other day (total of 5 times over 10 days) based on daily acupuncture. The treatment course for both groups was 10 days. The primary outcome was the improvement rate of liver ultrasound fatty liver grading before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes in ALT, AST, TG levels, the reduction rate of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, and symptom scores related to cold-dampness constitution. Results: After 10 days of treatment, the ultrasound improvement rate in the fire needle group (86.0%) was significantly higher than that in the conventional acupuncture group (70.0%) (P<0.05). The fire needle group was superior to the conventional acupuncture group in reducing ALT, AST, TG levels and the reduction rate of TCM syndrome scores (all P<0.05). In the cold-dampness constitution subgroup, the fire needle group showed more significant improvements in symptoms such as fear of cold, cold limbs, and loose stools (P<0.01). No serious adverse events occurred during the treatment period. Conclusion: A 10-day inpatient intensive fire needle treatment can rapidly and safely improve imaging findings, biochemical indicators, and clinical symptoms in NAFLD patients, with definite short-term efficacy. Particularly for patients with cold-dampness constitution, it demonstrates the syndrome differentiation advantages of warming Yang, dissipating cold, resolving Dampness, and unblocking collaterals. It can serve as an effective external TCM therapy for short-term comprehensive inpatient treatment.