141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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289163
Effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -a review


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Eric (Lung-Cheng) Hsiao, PhD, College of Eastern Medicine, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, CA
Lawrence (Lung-Sheng) Hsiao, MD, MS, College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, CA
Sivarama Prasad Vinjamury, MD, College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, CA
Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive condition which is characterized by irreversible airflow limitation, and leads to decreased physical activities, which in turn worsen dyspnea. The progress of major symptoms like shortness of breath, lower pulmonary function, and poor quality of life make it difficult to treat.

The purpose of this paper is to review the efficacy of Acupuncture towards COPD based on clinical studies. It may be provide as an adjuvant treatment to conventional treatment.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted in two electronic databases: PubMed and Cnki (a Chinese scientific periodical database). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involved in the acupuncture treatment of COPD from 2003 to 2012 were included in this review. This review is limited to articles in Chinese and English language.

Results: 8 papers met our inclusion criteria. Among these, 3 studies compared the treatment efficacy of acupuncture and placebo or sham acupuncture; 3 studies used integrated acupuncture and conventional medicine as the intervention, and the control group was conventional medicine; 2 studies compared the treatment efficacy of acupuncture with Moxibustion or Chinese herbal formula to conventional medicine. Overall, 5 studies indicated benefits of acupuncture treatment (P<0.01- P<0.05) and 3 studies indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between acupuncture and conventional medicine.

Conclusion: Based on our review, acupuncture may be beneficial to the patients with COPD. However, the evidence is inconclusive on the clinical efficacy of acupuncture due to the limitations within these studies.

Key Words: Acupuncture, COPD, Review

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Other professions or practice related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate the efficacy of Acupuncture towards COPD based on clinical studies. It may be provide as an adjuvant treatment to conventional treatment.

Keyword(s): Alternative Medicine/Therapies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the primary author of conducting this review.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2052.0: Alternative and Complementary Health Practices: Poster Session