Efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for phlegm-turbidity and blood-stasis metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Table 1 Participants’ baseline characteristics

	Age (years)	Male	Illness duration (d)	BMI (kg/m2)	Family history
ACET group (n = 40)	34.23 ± 8.08	22 (55.00)	15.45 ± 8.71	31.00 ± 4.37	4 (10.00)
Control group (n = 40)	38.38 ± 12.15	25 (62.50)	14.15 ± 6.52	29.95 ± 3.75	3 (7.50)
t/χ2	1.799	0.464	0.756	1.153	0.157
P value	0.076	0.496	0.452	0.252	0.692

ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Clinical efficacy comparison, n (%)

	Cured	Markedly effective	Effective	Ineffective	Overall effectiveness
ACET group (n = 40)	12 (30.00)	18 (45.00)	7 (17.50)	3 (7.50)	37 (92.50)
Control group (n = 40)	8 (20.00)	11 (27.50)	11 (27.50)	10 (25.00)	30 (75.00)
χ2					4.501
P value					0.034

ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy.

Table 3 Comparative analysis of body mass index, abdominal circumference, and body weight

		BMI (kg/m2)	Abdominal circumference (cm)	Body weight (kg)
ACET group	Before treatment	28.01 ± 1.37	112.28 ± 18.16	81.25 ± 10.70
	After treatment	24.25 ± 1.26a	91.83 ± 15.84a	66.72 ± 12.40a
Control group	Before treatment	27.64 ± 1.42	110.22 ± 15.93	77.47 ± 10.74
	After treatment	24.28 ± 1.39b	107.60 ± 18.00b	72.00 ± 8.92b

^aP < 0.05, pre- vs post-treatment in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) group.

^bP < 0.05, ACET vs control post-treatment.

ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 4 Total cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase comparisons

		TC (mmol/L)	TG (mmol/L)	ALT (U/L)	AST (U/L)
ACET group	Before treatment	4.86 ± 0.99	3.41 ± 1.72	130.09 ± 54.31	44.28 ± 43.95
	After treatment	4.27 ± 0.76a	2.19 ± 0.73a	39.62 ± 17.58a	36.86 ± 47.30a
Control group	Before treatment	4.73 ± 0.47	3.30 ± 1.65	121.70 ± 60.3	51.26 ± 38.73
	After treatment	4.61 ± 0.52b	3.04 ± 1.12b	69.56 ± 33.83b	46.86 ± 49.69b

^aP < 0.05, pre- vs post-treatment in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) group.

^bP < 0.05, ACET vs control post-treatment.

TC: Total cholesterol; TG: Triglyceride; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy.

Table 5 Comparison of instantaneous liver stiffness measurement and liver fibrosis panel

		Instantaneous LSM (KPa)	HA (μg/mL)	LN (μg/mL)	PCIII (μg/mL)	IV-C (μg/mL)
ACET group	Before treatment	9.27 ± 3.37	243.10 ± 83.42	186.49 ± 58.76	123.41 ± 24.26	130.63 ± 30.18
	After treatment	6.25 ± 2.20a	142.15 ± 61.50a	116.88 ± 42.52a	88.02 ± 16.65a	99.02 ± 27.52a
Control group	Before treatment	9.54 ± 3.42	228.49 ± 94.93	187.98 ± 74.09	130.97 ± 28.31	139.64 ± 34.72
	After treatment	8.28 ± 2.69b	190.02 ± 98.17b	146.45 ± 57.89b	112.05 ± 21.46b	120.02 ± 21.57b

^aP < 0.05, pre- vs post-treatment in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) group.

^bP < 0.05, ACET vs control post-treatment.

LSM: Liver stiffness measurement; HA: Hyaluronic acid; LN: Laminin; PCIII: Type III procollagen; IV-C: Type IV collagen; ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy.

Table 6 Serum platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-β1, and cytokeratin 18 level comparisons

		PDGF (pg/mL)	TGF-β1 (pg/mL)	CK-18 (ng/mL)
ACET group	Before treatment	30.72 ± 8.14	43.22 ± 8.46	136.56 ± 12.76
	After treatment	15.25 ± 4.39a	32.14 ± 6.57a	109.88 ± 12.32a
Control group	Before treatment	28.54 ± 8.42	48.49 ± 8.93	130.97 ± 13.09
	After treatment	23.20 ± 5.67b	40.09 ± 8.03b	126.40 ± 11.84b

^aP < 0.05, pre- vs post-treatment in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) group.

^bP < 0.05, ACET vs control post-treatment.

PDGF: Platelet-derived growth factor; TGF-β1: Transforming growth factor-β1; CK-18: Cytokeratin 18; ACET: Acupoint catgut embedding therapy.