Massage treatment of chronic persistent pediatric asthma

Abstract

Objective: We observed the clinical effect of massage in treating chronic persistent pediatric asthma and the changes in expression of TLR1, TLR2, and TLR4 on macrophages.

Methods: One hundred sixty pediatric patients with persistent chronic asthma were collected, and divided into treatment and control groups of 80 each in strict accordance with the principle of random allocation. The patients in the control group received general nebulizer therapy, and the patients in the treatment group received infantile massage. Both groups of patients were observed for 3 months with respect to the following indicators: the frequency of asthmatic attacks; the frequency of respiratory tract infections (RTIs); C-ACT rating; and the PEF% of peripheral blood (PB) before and after treatment to detect macrophage TLR1, TLR2, and TLR4.

Results: After treatment, the frequency of asthmatic attacks, frequency of RTIs, C-ACT rating, and the PEF% and macrophage TLR1, TLR2, and TLR4 expression of fluorescence intensity in the treatment group showed a statistically significant increase when compared with the control group ( ^☆ P<0.05).

Conclusion: Pediatric massage can improve the clinical symptoms of pediatric asthma by up-regulating the expression of macrophage TLR1, TLR2, and TLR4.