Background: Chronic eczema significantly impacts daily life, social interactions, and quality of life; however, no curative treatment has been identified.

Aim: To determine the clinical efficacy of acupoint injection for chronic eczema and its influence on peripheral blood T cells.

Methods: Eighty patients with chronic eczema treated at our hospital between June 2022 and March 2023 were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 40), which received conventional Western medicine treatment, or an observation group (n = 40), which received routine Western medicine treatment plus acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide. Response and adverse reaction rates, as well as differences in the levels of serum cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 before and after treatment were investigated.

Results: No difference in overall response rates were found between the observation and control groups (100%vs 90%, respectively;P > 0.05); however, the observation group had a higher marked response rate than the control group (87.5%vs 52.5%;P < 0.05). Both groups had decreased Eczema Area and Severity Index scores and increased pruritus after treatment (P < 0.05), particularly in the observation group (P < 0.05). The observation group had an adverse reaction rate of 2.5% (1/40), which did not differ significantly from that of the control group (P > 0.05). The observation group exhibited higher post-treatment INF-γ and IL-2 but lower IL-4 levels than the control group (P < 0.05); however, no significant inter-group difference was observed in post-treatment IL-10 levels (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Acupoint injection of triamcinolone acetonide is safe and effective in treating chronic eczema. Its therapeutic mechanism is related to the regulation of peripheral blood T cell levels, inhibition of inflammatory reactions, and mitigation of immune imbalance.

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.