Lizhen Wang

Adverse Events of Acupuncture: A Systematic Review of Case Reports

Acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping, important in traditional Eastern medicine, are increasingly used in the West. Their widening acceptance demands continual safety assessment. This review, a sequel to one our team published 10 years ago, is an evaluation of the frequency and severity of adverse events (AEs) reported for acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping between 2000 and 2011. Relevant English-language reports in six databases were identified and assessed by two reviewers. During this 12-year period, 117 reports of 308 AEs from 25 countries and regions were associated with acupuncture (294 cases), moxibustion (4 cases), or cupping (10 cases). Country of occurrence, patients sex and age, and outcome were extracted. Infections, mycobacterial, staphylococcal, and others, were the main complication of acupuncture. In the previous review, we found the main source of infection to be hepatitis, caused by reusable needles. In this review, we found the majority of infections to be bacterial, caused by skin contact at acupoint sites; we found no cases of hepatitis. Although the route of infection had changed, infections were still the major complication of acupuncture. Clearly, guidelines such as Clean Needle Technique must be followed in order to minimize acupuncture AEs.

Effectiveness of moxibustion treatment as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial

IntroductionOur objective was to compare the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese moxibustion to that of sham moxibustion in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain.MethodsWe conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial involving 110 patients with KOA who met the inclusion criteria. These patients randomly received either active moxibustion (n = 55) or sham moxibustion control (n = 55) at acupoints Dubi (ST 35), extra-point Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), and an Ashi (tender) point three times a week for 6 weeks. Effects were evaluated with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities’ Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC VA 3.1) criteria at the end of the course of treatment and 3, 12, and 24 weeks after the initial treatment.ResultsThe WOMAC pain scores showed greater improvement in the active treatment group than in control at weeks 3 (P = 0.012), 6 (P <0.001), 12 (P = 0.002), and 24 (P = 0.002) as did WOMAC physical function scores of the active treatment group at week 3 (P = 0.002), 6 (P = 0.015), and 12 (P <0.001) but not 24 (P = 0.058). Patients and practitioners were blinded successfully, and no significant adverse effects were found during the trial.ConclusionsA 6-week course of moxibustion seems to relieve pain effectively and improve function in patients with KOA for up to 18 weeks after the end of treatment. Moxibustion treatment appears to be safe, and the usefulness of the novel moxa device was validated.Trial registrationCurrent controlled trial: ISRCTN68475405. Registered 4 April 2014.

Effect of different LLLT on pituitrin-induced bradycardia in the rabbit

The objective of this paper was to observe the effect of low-level combined- or single-laser irradiation on bradycardia produced by pituitrin in rabbits. A combined-laser apparatus was made. A 10.6-μm CO2 laser and a 650-nm semiconductor laser, transmitted by different optical fibers, converged to output and irradiate on the Neiguan (PC6) acupuncture point in rabbits with bradycardia produced by pituitrin. Thirty minutes after the model was set, the heart rates of the combined-laser Neiguan group made quicker recoveries than those of the model control group, the laser-control group, or the single-laser Neiguan group (P<0.05), and the heart rates of the single-CO2-laser Neiguan group were similar to those of the normal group (P>0.05). However, there were significant differences between the 650-nm-laser Neiguan group and the normal control group (P<0.05). The combined-laser irradiation certainly has a curative effect on bradycardia produced by pituitrin. A single CO2 laser could accelerate the recovery from bradycardia, while single 650-nm-laser irradiation on the Neiguan acupoint does not produce such an effect.

Patterns of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis in Thermal Laser Acupuncture Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) manifests with pain, joint stiffness, and limited function. In traditional Chinese medicine, knee OA is differentiated into three patterns: yang deficiency and cold coagulation, kidney deficiency, and blood stasis. The objective of this study was to determine whether yang deficiency cold coagulation patients respond better to thermal laser acupuncture treatment than do non-yang deficient patients. Fifty-two patients with OA were allocated to group A (yang deficient, n = 26) or B (non-yang deficient, n = 26). All patients received a 20-min thermal laser acupuncture treatment at acupoint Dubi (ST 35) three times a week for two weeks and twice a week for another four weeks. Outcome assessments were performed immediately after the first treatment, and at weeks 2, 6, and 10. Group A function scores were significantly better than those of Group B at weeks 2 (P = 0.049), 6 (P = 0.046), and 10 (P = 0.042), but no significant differences were found between the two groups in pain and stiffness scores at any time point. No significant adverse effect was observed. The combined 10.6 μm–650 nm laser treatment might be most beneficial to yang deficiency cold coagulation knee OA patients, particularly in improving function.

Preliminary clinical randomized controlled trial on knee osteoarthritis treated with moxibustion

Abstract Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of moxibustion on pain, stiffness and physical dysfunction caused by knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and make an assessment on the effectiveness and safety of this therapy. Methods Fifty-nine cases of KOA were randomly divided into a moxibustion group (31 cases) and a sham-moxibustion group (28 cases). The treatment of moxibustion was given at Neixīyăn ( EX-LE 4), Dubi ( ST 35) and Ashi points with real moxa cone in the moxibustion group and sham moxa cone in the sham-moxibustion group, 3 cones on each point per time, once every two days, 3 times per week for consecutively 6 weeks. The results were recorded in week 3 and 6 of the treatment, and the follow-up visit was performed 6 weeks after the end of treatment. The Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the shortest walking time of 46 m were adopted to evaluate the recovery situation of joint function. The UT-325 digital thermal detector was put to use to record the temperature change in the most obvious painful points of knee joint before and after the moxibustion. Results All the scores of WOMAC in the moxibustion group were apparently decreased in week 3 and 6 of the treatment as well as the follow-up visit, separately (P 0.05), and the between-group difference was not significant statistically (P>0.05). The temperature of treatment point after the moxibustion was (49.81±3.10) °C in the moxibustion group and (40.98±1.67) °C in the sham-moxibustion group, which was both increased apparently as compared with that before the treatment (P Conclusion The moxibustion, which can obviously improve the clinical symptoms of the patients with KOA, such as pain, stiffness and physical dysfunction, is safe and effective.

The infrared radiation spectrum of acupoint Taiyuan (LU 9) in asthma patients

OBJECTIVE To analyze the distinctive pathological characteristics in the spectrums of spontaneous infrared radiation at the Taiyuan (LU 9) acupoint in patients with asthma. METHODS A highly sensitive infrared spectrum detecting device was used to detect the spectrums of spontaneous infrared radiation at Taiyuan (LU 9) in 37 asthma patients and 34 healthy volunteers. RESULTS Asthma patients had significantly lower infrared intensity than that of the healthy volunteers (P>0.01). Asthma patients had significantly lower overall infrared radiation intensity at the left Taiyuan (LU 9) than that of healthy volunteers (P > 0.05), but there was no significant difference between healthy volunteers and asthma patients at the right Taiyuan (LU 9) (P > 0.05). The infrared radiation intensity of 17 wavelength spots at the left Taiyuan (LU 9) and 4 wavelength spots at the right Taiyuan (LU 9) in asthma patients were significantly lower than those of healthy volunteers (P > 0.05). At 2 microm, the infrared radiation intensity of asthma patients was significantly stronger than that of healthy volunteers (P > 0.05). At 19 wavelength spots in the healthy volunteers and at 4 wave-length spots in the asthma patients, the left Taiyuan (LU 9) showed a significantly stronger intensity than that of the right Taiyuan (LU 9) (P > 0.05S). By Pearsons chi2 test, healthy volunteers had more wavelength spots that were significantly different between the left and right Taiyuan (LU 9) than the asthma patients (P > 0.01). CONCLUSION Changes in the infrared spectrum at the Taiyuan (LU 9) acupoint in asthma patients may reflect distinct pathological changes. Certain acupuncture points may be related to specific organs.