Clinical Assessment on the Safety of Acupuncture with Aromatherapy

향기침요법(Acupuncture with Aromatherapy)의 임상적인 부작용에 대한 연구

  • Hong Jin-Woo (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Kim Chang-Hyun (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Min In-Kyu (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Chung Sae-Yun (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Hwang Jae-Woong (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Kim Seok-Min (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Sun Jong-Joo (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Jung Jae-Han (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Choi Chang-Min (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Jung Woo-Sang (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Moon Sang-Kwan (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Cho Ki-Ho (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Kim Young-Suk (Department of Cardiovascular & Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center), College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University)
  • 홍진우 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 김창현 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 민인규 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 정세연 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 황재웅 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 김석민 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 선종주 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 정재한 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 최창민 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 정우상 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 문상관 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 조기호 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2내과학교실) ;
  • 김영석 (경희대학교 한의과대학 2과학교실)
  • Published : 2006.06.30

Abstract

Background & Purpose : Acupuncture with aromatherapy (AA) is a branch of complementary or alternative therapy recently growing in use. As the use of aromatherapy itself has grown so rapidly in recent years, studies about its safety have been accumulating. However, safety of AA has not been studied clinically and the treatment method which has the needles inserted after spreading essential oils exposes the human body more directly to components than aromatherapy. Therefore, we examined the safety of AA on patients treated thereby and physicians practising it. Methods : We observed all inpatients treated with AA from November 21, 2005 to March 31, 2006, in Kyung Hee Oriental Medical Center. During treatment, we monitored all of the newly developed signs from the patients to assess the adverse effects of AA. The patients' and physicians' general characteristics (gender, age, present illness, and treatment days) were obtained from medical records and analyzed to assess the clinical safety of AA in detail. Results : There were 440 patients treated with AA; clinical adverse effects appeared in 3 of them, which can be assessed as 0.7%. The major symptom was chest discomfort and choking originated from smell aversion condition (2 patients), and the other adverse effect was sensation of itching and reddening. However, none of them seemed to have direct relation with AA. A total of eight physicians applied AA and there were no symptoms related to it among them. Conclusions : We suggest that our results will contribute to confirming the safety of AA by offering clinical evidence.

Keywords