Objective To observe the early rehabilitation effects of acupuncture on brain arousal in patients with severe craniocerebral injury. Methods One hundred and two patients with severe craniocerebral injury were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and an electrical stimulation （ES） group with 51 cases in each group. In addition to conventional treatment and nursing in neurosurgery, acupuncture at Shuigou （水沟 GV 26）, Neiguan （内关PC 6） and Sanyingjiao （三阴交 SP 6）, as the main aeupoints, were applied for the cases in acupuncture group, and functional electrical stimulation （FES） was applied at selected muscles in the affected upper limb for the cases in ES group. The awaken rate, time for arousal and clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups after 30 days of treatments. Results The awaken rate was 82.4%（42/51） in acupuncture group, which was significantly higher than 56.9%（29/51） in ES group （P〈0.01）, and the arousal time was significantly shorter and therapeutic effects were better in acupuncture group than those in ES group （both P〈0.01）. Conclusion On the basis of conventional treatment, early application of acupuncture provides better effects on restoration of arousal function of the brain in patients with severe craniocerebral injury than functional electrical stimulation.
