Deborah L. Ackerman

Prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome: a systematic review of termination rates (1995–2011)

The objective of this study was to review the published literature on pregnancy termination following a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome in the United States.

A prospective patient-centered data collection program at an acupuncture and oriental medicine teaching clinic.

OBJECTIVE Large-scale patient-reported outcomes research investigating the role of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) in general practice is limited, despite the growing use of AOM in the United States. This article describes the development and refinement of a prospective, patient-centered outcomes data collection program at an Oriental medicine college and presents demographic and clinical data. SETTING/LOCATION Individualized acupuncture treatment at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine teaching clinic in Portland, Oregon. METHODS A prospective patient-centered data collection program was implemented in 2007 using the Measure Your Medical Outcomes Profile (MYMOP) questionnaire and college-developed demographic and conditions forms. The forms were completed by patients on the first and fifth clinic visit. The program was revised after two years to streamline the data entry process and to include three Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaires measuring pain, general health, and physical functioning. OUTCOME MEASURES Outcome measures were patient demographics, chief complaints, MYMOP, and PROMIS data collected at first visit. RESULTS Demographics were similar to those reported in other AOM settings. The majority of patients were Caucasian females and expressed confidence in acupuncture treatment. The most common chief complaint was joint and muscle pain. Additionally, we found that mean scores at baseline for global physical and mental health and physical functioning were all lower than U.S. averages. In contrast to some studies, we found that the majority of patients had previous experience with acupuncture. CONCLUSIONS An ongoing, prospective data collection program can be successfully developed and implemented at an AOM college. The program will ultimately provide large-scale, patient-reported outcomes on patients seeking AOM treatment at the student clinic.

P02.15. Acupuncture improves in vitro fertilization live birth outcomes: a retrospective chart review

Methods From 2008–2009, patients at a private infertility clinic in Kirkland, WA could elect onsite adjuvant acupuncture on the day of ET. Of 464 patients who received ET, 188 elected acupuncture (Acu) and 276 did not (No Acu). The Acu group received two standardized acupuncture treatments. Prior to ET, the following points were needled: GV20, PC6, ST29, SP8, LV3 and R6 with Shenmen and Brain on the left ear and Uterus and Endocrine on the right ear. Post ET, the same points on opposite ears and LI4, SP10, ST36, and SP6 were needled. Live birth outcomes were analyzed using logistic regression with age and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as covariates. Differences across categories of maternal age were evaluated with crude risk ratios.

AcuTrials®: an online database of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of acupuncture

BackgroundThe growing quantity of Complementary and Alternative Medicine literature requires databases enabled with increasingly powerful search capabilities. To address this need in the area of acupuncture research, a bibliographic database of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews called AcuTrials® has been developed by the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. AcuTrials® introduces a comprehensive keyword thesaurus that categorizes details of treatment protocols and research design to an extent not currently available in MEDLINE or other databases.DescriptionAcuTrials®, which went live in January of 2010 and is updated monthly, currently contains over 1250 articles from more than 300 journals. Articles included are English language RCTs and systematic reviews that report on medical conditions in human subjects treated by needle acupuncture. Study details are indexed by 14 key domains, such as acupuncture style and needling protocol, to create an acupuncture-relevant, searchable keyword catalogue. Keywords follow the National Library of Medicine (NLM) MeSH terminology when possible, and new keywords were created in cases where no appropriate MeSH terms were available. The resulting keyword catalogue enables users to perform sensitive, targeted searches for particular aspects of acupuncture treatment and research design.ConclusionsAcuTrials® provides an extensive and innovative keyword catalogue of acupuncture research, allowing users to efficiently navigate, locate and assess the evidence base in ways not currently possible with other databases. By providing a more powerful suite of search options, the AcuTrials® database has the potential to enhance the accessibility and quality of acupuncture research.

P02.163. Acupuncture and donor egg in vitro fertilization cycles: a retrospective chart review comparing two acupuncture protocols

Purpose Research investigating the effect of acupuncture on in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy outcomes has focused primarily on non-donor cycles. Most trials excluded donor IVF cycles in their design, as donor IVF live birth outcomes are higher than non-donor IVF. In this retrospective chart review, we compared the effect of two standardized acupuncture protocols on donor IVF live birth outcomes.

P02.08. Patient reported outcomes from complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (PROCAIM): a feasibility practice network study

Methods The study was a longitudinal observational, cohort study with data collected at baseline and three months. Nine integrative medicine clinics housed at academic health centers that were members of the Consortium for Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM) were invited to participate. Each academic health center was asked to obtain IRB approval for the study. Clinic patients enrolled in the study were given instructions for logging on to the project website to complete the following questionnaires: demographic, quality of life (SF-12), brief pain inventory, and an evaluation of the web-based system. Three months after completing baseline questionnaires patients were notified by email with instructions to complete final quality of life and pain questionnaires. Change in quality of life and pain were analyzed by paired t-test.

P02.47. The relationship between CAM use and somatic symptom severity

Methods Data were collected prospectively through the PROCAIM Network, developed at UCLA. The Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ15) was used to measure 3 month change in symptom severity. All patients reported having chronic medical conditions characterized by chronic pain. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate: (1) The relationship between somatic symptom severity and the number of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities at baseline and during the three month period. (2) The relationship between somatic symptom severity and the NCCAM CAM categories.