Objective To observe the efficacy of acupuncture at phenomaxillary ganglia and local acupoints for symptoms induced by allergic rhinitis(AR).Methods Fifty AR patients were randomly divided into treatment group(n=26)and control group(n=24).Patients of the treatment group were treated by needling in phenomaxillary ganglia

and then at Yingxiang(LI 20

bilateral)and Yintang(EX-HN 3)for 20 min

twice per week with a total treatment period of 4weeks.Needling in left and right phenomaxillary ganglia was alternately performed.Patients in the control group were treated with oral loratadine tablets for 4weeks.The clinical efficacy

AR symptoms score and Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)score were assessed before and after the treatment.Results The total clinical efficacy of the treatment and control groups was 76.91%(20/26)and 54.17%(13/24)

respectively

the therapeutic effect of the treatment group was obviously superior to that of the control group(P<0.05).In the treatment group

both symptoms and VAS scores were lower after treatment compared with those before treatment(P<0.01)and those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion Needling in phenomaxillary ganglia and local points is effective in relieving AR-induced symptoms.