Ziwu-Liuzhu-guided combined external therapy promotes wound healing in postoperative perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease

Table 2 Changes in Crohn’s Disease Activity Index and Perianal Disease Activity Index scores from baseline to week 4 among the three treatment groups, mean ± SD

Variable	Sitz bath group (n = 72)	Sitz bath plus acupoint application group (n = 69)	Ziwu-Liuzhu time-specific external treatment group (n = 76)	Statistic	P value	Effect size (η2)
CDAI score
Baseline	256.4 ± 41.2	252.7 ± 39.6	254.1 ± 40.5	F = 0.16	0.853	0.001
Week 4	183.7 ± 34.9	151.8 ± 30.6	121.6 ± 27.4	F = 57.32	< 0.001	0.347
Δ CDAI	72.7 ± 28.6	100.9 ± 30.2	132.5 ± 35.7	F = 61.08	< 0.001	0.362
95%CI for Δ CDAI	66.1-79.3	93.8-108.0	124.5-140.5
Within-group comparison (paired t)	t = 21.56	t = 27.75	t = 32.34		< 0.001 for all
PDAI score
Baseline	6.4 ± 1.2	6.3 ± 1.1	6.2 ± 1.2	F = 0.53	0.592	0.005
Week 4	4.3 ± 1.0	3.1 ± 0.9	2.0 ± 0.8	F = 98.46	< 0.001	0.478
Δ PDAI	2.1 ± 0.9	3.2 ± 1.0	4.2 ± 1.1	F = 74.92	< 0.001	0.411
95%CI for Δ PDAI	1.89-2.31	2.96-3.44	3.95-4.45
Within-group comparison (paired t)	t = 19.80	t = 26.59	t = 33.28		< 0.001 for all

Within-group comparisons were performed using paired t tests. Between-group comparisons were performed using one-way analysis of variance. Bonferroni correction was applied for post hoc pairwise comparisons. Effect size is expressed as eta-squared (η²). Δ indicates the change from baseline to week 4. CDAI: Crohn’s Disease Activity Index; PDAI: Perianal Disease Activity Index; CI: Confidence interval.