Bloodletting therapy combined with paroxetine hydrochloride for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial

This paper aims to verify the curative effect of Chinese bloodletting therapy combined with paroxetine hydrochloride for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A randomized controlled trial was conducted. 70 patients with GAD were randomly allocated to 2 groups. The experimental group received bloodletting therapy combined with paroxetine hydrochloride. The control group was given paroxetine hydrochloride alone. Each group received specific treatment for 4 weeks during the study. Outcome measures were Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and effective rate. Measurements were taken before and after the study. Significant differences in SAS were found between the experimental group and control group after the treatment (P<0.05). The effective rate of experimental group was 82.4% and the control group was 52.9%. Bloodletting therapy combined with paroxetine hydrochloride is superior to using paroxetine hydrochloride alone for GAD.