Monitoring Al-Hijamah therapy on PCV% in tobacco smokers: Pre-post analysis

Abstract

Background: Al-hijamah is a traditional therapy used to clear blood and interstitial fluids, thereby helping maintain optimal levels of various blood solutes. Smoking is known to increase packed cell volume percentage (PCV%), leading to increased blood viscosity and associated complications. Aim: This study aimed to examine the impact of Al-hijamah therapy on reducing elevated PCV levels in healthy adult smokers Methods: A pre-post study was conducted on 25 healthy male adults aged 30–55 years who underwent Al-hijamah therapy in Fallujah, Iraq. All the participants were smokers who were medication-free and had PCV% values near the upper limit. Al-Hijamah was performed at five specific points of the posterior neck, bilateral paraspinal areas of the neck, and the thoracic spine. Venous blood samples were collected to measure PCV% three and seven days before and after the treatment. The result was statistically analyzed using t-test and p-value by SPSS version 25. Results: The pre-treatment PCV% values were equal to nearly the upper limit of the normal range (mean = 46.12%). A statistically significant reduction was observed after three days of treatment (mean = 43.20%, p-value = 0.000), which decreased slightly after four more days (43.16%). There was no significant change between day 3 and 7 (p-value = 0.942). Conclusion: Al-hijamah therapy can rapidly and significantly reduce elevated PCV% in healthy adult smokers within three days of treatment, with effects persisting for at least a week.