Objective To investigate the impacts of fire needling combined with Huoxue Huayu Decoction on disease severity, skin barrier function and hemorheology in patients with psoriasis vulgaris of blood stasis syndrome.

Methods A total of 120 patients with psoriasis vulgaris of blood stasis syndrome treated in our hospital were randomly divided into traditional Chinese medicine group (60 cases) and combined group (60 cases) according to the random number table method. The TCM syndrome scores, severity Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score, hemorheology (whole blood low shear viscosity and high shear viscosity, plasma viscosity), skin barrier function(transepidermal moisture loss, stratum corneum water content and sebum content), quality of life Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score and clinical healing effect were compared.

Results Compared with before treatment, the scores of TCM syndromes such as hypertrophic infiltration of skin lesions, skin lesion color, pruritus, and skin dryness, PASI score, whole blood low shear viscosity, whole blood high shear viscosity, plasma viscosity, transepidermal water loss and DLQI score in both groups were decreased after treatment, and the degree of reduction in the combined group was more significant than that in the traditional Chinese medicine group(P < 0.05). Compared with before treatment, the water content and sebum content of the stratum corneum in both groups increased after treatment, and the combined group was higher than the traditional Chinese medicine group (P < 0.05). The total effective rate of the combined group was 93.33%, which was higher than 78.33% of the traditional Chinese medicine group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion Fire needling combined with Huoxue Huayu Decoction for psoriasis vulgaris of blood stasis syndrome can usefully ameliorate the clinical symptoms and skin barrier function, regulate blood rheologyindexes, and enhance the quality of life.