Objective To explore the remote efficacy and safety of consciousness-restoring resuscitation （Xingnao Kaiqiao, short for XNKQ） acupuncture on cerebral infarction at recovery phase. Methods Two hundred and thirty-four cases of cerebral infarction at recovery phase were randomized into XNKQ group and routine acupuncture group （routine group） in light of SAS code. One hundred and sixteen cases in the XNKQ group were treated with XNKQ acupuncture （once a day, totally 4 weeks） and routine treatment with western medicine. One hundred and eighteen cases in the routine group received routine acupuncture and routine treatment with western medicine. Follow-up lasted 6 months. Primary indexes： the situations of survival, treatment and recurrence at the end of follow-up. Secondary indexes： assessment of nerve functions at the end of follow-up and rate of adverse events during acupunc- ture. Results In 6 months follow-up, the mortality was 0.86% and rate of continuous treatment was 36.21% in the XNKQ group and they were 1.69% and 36.44% respectively in the routine group. The differences did not present statistical significance between the two groups （X^2 = 0.29, P=0.59; X^2 = 0.32, P = 0.57）. Concerning to the decrease of recurrence rate and improvement of nerve functions, the out-comes in the XNKQ group were superior to those in the routine group （P〈0.01）. Severe adverse events did not happen in the two groups. Conclusion XNKQ acupuncture is safe therapy and its remote efficacy is superior to that of routine acupuncture in the decrease of recurrence rate and improvement of nerve functions.
