ObjectiveTo explore the clinical effect of Ditan Xifeng Tongluo Decoction combined with warming needle moxibustion for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and to analyze its influence on cerebral hemodynamics and relevant neurological factors levels. MethodsA total of 104 AIS patients were randomly assigned to control group or observation group, with 52 cases in each group. Both groups were treated with routine Western therapy, simultaneously, the observation group was treated with Ditan Xifeng Tongluo Decoction combined with warming needle moxibustion. After 2 weeks of treatment, efficacy was evaluated in both groups. The pre- and post-treatment neurological functions (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score), cerebral hemodynamics indices with respect to medium-sized cerebral artery mean flow velocity (MFV), pulsation index (PI), and resistance index (RI), serum neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF], neurotrophin 3 [NT-3], nerve growth factor [NGF]) levels, and nerve damage marker proteins (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], neuron-specific enolase [NSE], S100 calcium-binding protein B [S100B]) levels were compared between patients of the two groups. ResultsAfter treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group was 92.31%, which was higher than 76.92% of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, NIHSS score, medium-sized cerebral artery PI and RI, as well as serum GFAP, NSE, and S100B levels in the two groups were lower than those before treatment, whereas medium-sized cerebral artery MFV, and serum BDNF, NT-3, and NGF levels in the two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the observation group yielded superior indices as above to compare with the control group (P<0.05). ConclusionCompared with single routine therapy, combined application of Ditan Xifeng Tongluo Decoction and warming needle moxibustion to AIS patients can more effectively ameliorate cerebral hemodynamics, so as to promote neural functional recovery, relieve clinical symptoms and physical signs, and it can preferably promote expressions of neurotrophins and decrease levels of nerve damage marker proteins at the same time.