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Acupuncture: where is the evidence?

Acupuncture: where is the evidence?. The Cochrane Reviews of Acupuncture. Doris Hubbs, MD, FACP April 26, 2013. Disclosures. No financial conflicts of interest No intention of discussion off-label use I would like to recognize and thank several important people…. The Cochrane Reviews.

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Acupuncture: where is the evidence?

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  1. Acupuncture:where is the evidence? The Cochrane Reviews of Acupuncture Doris Hubbs, MD, FACP April 26, 2013

  2. Disclosures No financial conflicts of interest No intention of discussion off-label use I would like to recognize and thank several important people…

  3. The Cochrane Reviews Systematic reviews of primary research in human health care Internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidenced-based health care

  4. Acupuncture for Painan overview of Cochrane reviews • Eight Cochrane reviews evaluating effectiveness of acupuncture for pain • Four reviews concluded that acupuncture is effective for: • migraines • neck disorders • tension HA’s • peripheral joint OA

  5. Acupuncture for Migraine Prophylaxis: Cochrane Review To investigate whether acupuncture is a) more effective than no treatment b) more effective than “sham” (placebo) acupuncture c) as effective as other interventions in reducing HA frequency in migraine pts.

  6. Acupuncture for Migraine Prophylaxis: Cochrane Review • Selection criteria: • Randomized trials with observation period of at least 8 weeks, comparing clinical effects of acupuncture treatment with: • No treatment or routine care only • Sham acupuncture • Another intervention for migraine

  7. Migraine Results 22 trials with 4419 participants met the inclusion criteria. There is consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit to routine care for migraine Acupuncture is at least as effective as (possibly more) prophylactic drug tx And has fewer adverse effects.

  8. Acupuncture for Tension HA’sCochrane Reviews • To investigate whether acupuncture is • a) more effective than no tx or routine care only • b) more effective than ‘sham’ acupuncture • c) as effective as other interventions in reducing HA frequency in patients with chronic tension HA

  9. Acupuncture for Tension HA’sMain Results 11 trials with 2317 participants met inclusion criteria 2 large trials showed statistically significant benefits of acupuncture over control for response, number of HA days, and pain intensity for the length of f/u (3 months)

  10. Acupuncture for Tension HA’sCochrane Review Results 5 trials comparing acupuncture with sham tx showed small but statistically significant benefits of acupuncture over sham treatment

  11. Acupuncture for Tension HA’s Cochrane Review Conclusion Acupuncture can be a valuable non-pharmacological treatment in patients with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches

  12. Acupuncture for Neck PainCochrane Reviews 2008 Neck pain is one of the three most frequently reported complaints of the musculoskeletal system.

  13. Acupuncture for Neck PainCochrane Reviews 2008 Objective: To determine the effects of acupuncture for individuals with neck pain. RCT’s or quasi-RCT’s included. 10 trials using acupuncture for chronic neck pain.

  14. Acupuncture for Neck PainCochrane Reviews 2008 No trials examined the effects of acupuncture for acute or subacute pain Methodological quality had a mean of 2.3/5 on the Jadad Scale. For chronic mechanical neck pain, there was moderate evidence that acupuncture was more effective than sham controls, massage, or a wait-list control.

  15. Acupuncture for OsteoarthritisCochrane Review 2008 Peripheral joint osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and disability. Objective: To assess the effects of acupuncture for treating peripheral joint osteoarthritis

  16. Acupuncture for OsteoarthritisCochrane Review 2008 • Inclusion criteria: • RCT’s comparing acupuncture with sham, another active tx, or a waiting list control group in people with OA of the knee, hip, or hand.

  17. Acupuncture for OsteoarthritisCochrane Review Results 16 trials involving 3498 people were included: 12 RCT’s with only OA knee 3 trials with only OA hip 1 trial with OA of the hip and/or knee

  18. Acupuncture for OsteoarthritisCochrane Review Conclusions Sham-controlled trials showed statistically significant benefits; However, did not meet pre-defined thresholds for clinical relevance Waiting list-controlled trials suggested statistically significant and clinically relevant benefits of acupuncture for pain from peripheral joint OA

  19. Acupuncture for PainCochrane Reviews 2008 4 reviews concluded that acupuncture is effective for migraines, neck disorders, tension HA’s, and peripheral joint OA 3 reviews were inconclusive for shoulder pain, lateral elbow pain, and LBP One review failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture for RA

  20. Cochrane Reviews2008 Acupuncture for conditions other than pain: Asthma, glaucoma, depression, schizophrenia, irritable bowel syndrome, nausea due to CHT or post-op, Bell’s palsy, RLS, epilepsy, vascular dementia, stroke, insomnia, cocaine dependence, conception, induction of labor, uterine fibroids

  21. Limitations to RCT’s for Acupuncture Cost Difficult to find a credible placebo Unable to keep practitioners blinded Many different acupuncture methods Controlling the skill of the practitioner Guerra de Hoyos et al., Medical Acupuncture: A Journal for Physicians By Physicians, Vol. 14, #2, 2001

  22. Arch. Intern. Med: 2012 Acupuncture for Chronic Pain (back, neck, OA, headache, shoulder) Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis Systematic review of 29 RTC’s with total of 17,922 patients.

  23. Arch. Intern. Med. 2012 Conclusions: Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.

  24. Summary Acupuncture has been shown in RCT’s to be safe and effective for certain types of pain, include HA, neck pain, OA pain Many financial and technical difficulties limit the availability of acupuncture RCT’s More studies are needed to better understand the benefits of acupuncture.

  25. Thank You! Questions?

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