Objective To analyze the regularities and characters of clinical application of red-hot needle therapy in ancient and modern literature of Chinese medicine by using data mining techniques

so as to provide a reference for study on the specificity of efficacy of red-hot needle therapy.Methods Sample data was collected from some medical books

medical cases

reports of modern journals for calculating frequent item sets by using methods of association rules of data mining.Then

the collected data was extracted

sorted out

and summed up by using our newly developed literature database platform of red-hot needle therapy in order to find out the most suitable indications of this therapy in clinical practice.Results A total of 6 categories of clinical conditions treated by red-hot needle therapy were found.Among them

the frequency times(percentages) of red-hot needle application for surgical problems appeared in journals

medical cases and medical books are 287 times(49.83%)

235 times(48.96%)

154 times(41.73%)

respectively.The frequency times of red-hot needle application for disorders of internal medicine and dermatology are 276 times and 360 times.Among the 115 categories of clinical conditions or diseases treated by red-hot needle appeared in journals

arthromyodynia and struma are frequently found

with the frequency being 115 and 46 times

separately.The total effective rates of the present therapy from higher to lower are 99.46% for pediatric problems

98.65% five sensory organs department

97.32% surgery

96.66% dermatology

96.34% gynecology

and 93.95% internal medicine

respectively.Among the 97 types of clinical conditions recorded in the literature on medical cases

aural verruca is more frequently seen apart from arthromyodynia and struma.In medical books

94 types of clinical conditions treated by red-hot needle therapy are found

including 32 types of problems of internal medicine.Conclusion Data mining results show that red-hot needle therapy has been widely used in different clinical departments

and more frequently used in surgery(mainly orthopedic and general surgery)

internal medicine(mainly neurology and gastroenterology)

dermatology.