Acupuncture therapy results in immediate bronchodilating effect in asthma patients

Chu, K. A.

Wu, Y. C.

Ting, Y. M.

Wang, H. C.

Lu, J. Y.

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA

2007

70(7)

265-268

RCT

Acu Versus Sham

Acupuncture

Asthma

Cross-Over Design

Fixed Acupuncture Protocol

Penetrating Sham

Non Specific Acupoint Control

RCT

Respiratory Tract Diseases

Restricted Modalities, Acupuncture Only

Superficial Needling Depth

Sham Acupoint Control

Sham Control

TCM Acupuncture Style

Background: According to previous data on asthma in the English literature, there are some results that show encouraging effects of acupuncture improving pulmonary function in asthma patients. We designed a prospective randomized crossover controlled study to determine the efficacy of acupuncture in asthma patients. Methods: Eighteen asthma patients with bronchodilator response >20% improvement of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were initially randomly assigned to receive 1 performance of real acupuncture (RA) or sham acupuncture (SA) in a blinded manner. After a washout period, the patients were crossed over. Spirometry was done and recorded before and after acupuncture. Results: Sixteen of 18 patients completed the study. The mean (+/-SD) FEV1 values before and after RA were 1.52 +/- 0.45L and 1.67 +/- 0.40L, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean (+/-SD) FEV1 values before and after SA were 1.49 +/- 0.40L and 1.49 +/- 0.41L, respectively (p = 0.838, not significant). The percentage change in FEV1 values after RA was better than after SA (RA, 11.57 +/- 8.11%; SA, 0.32 +/- 7.76%; p = 0.003), while the bronchodilator response of FEV1 from simple inhalation bronchodilator was better than that for RA (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In asthma patients, acupuncture treatment may result in immediate improvement of FEV1, but the degree of improvement is less than that from inhalation bronchodilator

Respiratory Tract Diseases

N/A

18

1 Day