Revista de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río (Sep 2017)
Effectiveness of auriculotherapy in the elderly suffering from glaucoma in Pinar del Rio
Abstract
Introduction: glaucoma is a major cause of irreversible blindness worldwide; it is a chronic, insidious and often asymptomatic disease. Objective: to determine the effectiveness of auriculotherapy in the elderly suffering from glaucoma. Method: a prospective, longitudinal and analytical study carried out in Pinar del Rio province. The elderly patients with the diagnosis of chronic glaucoma were taken as the target group. The sample consisted of 60 elderly patients diagnosed with chronic glaucoma, who were decompensated. They were grouped into two groups: in group-I included patients with conventional treatment for glaucoma and in group- II those treated with auriculotherapy. Results: after a one-year treatmentvisual acuity predominated between 0.7-0.1 in both groups, ocular pressure behaved in normal standards in 76.6% and 73.3 %, respectively. In group-I adverse reactions prevailed (66.7 %) and polypharmacy (83.3 %), unlike the other group that made not report. Conclusion: the results of this research showed that auriculotherapy can be applied with a high effectiveness as a treatment in the elderly suffering from glaucoma; it allows the preservation of visual acuity after the compensation of ocular pressure. It provokes less adverse reactions than the conventional medical treatment. Polypharmacy is reduced and provides a better quality of life for the elderly patients; it is safe, economical and it has a notable acceptation into the adult population.
