• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2024

This study presents a case of facial nerve injury that occurred after parotidectomy for a benign tumor of the parotid gland that improved with integrated Korean medicine (IKM). On June 24, 2023, the patient presented with facial nerve injury based on a facial nerve conduction study after parotidectomy, with a score of five on Yanagihara's unweighted grading system (Y-system) and a grade of five on the House-Brackmann facial grading scale (H-B scale). During the 15 days of admission, IKM treatments, including acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, herbal steam therapy, physiotherapy, herbal medicine, and thread embedding acupuncture treatment, were performed. After treatment, the strength of the orbicularis oculi, orbicularis oris, and masticatory muscles improved, with a Y-system score of 17 and an H-B scale of III. In conclusion, the findings of this study confirm the applicability and effectiveness of IKM in the treatment of facial paralysis following parotidectomy.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.258-266
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• 2022

This study aimed to analyze auricular acupressure and auricular acupuncture used in smoking cessation research by analyzing published randomized controlled trials. Eight databases (PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CNKI, CiNII, KMbase, KISS, OASIS) were searched until December 2021, and 21 out of 1,919 studies met inclusion criteria. Data on the treatment site, time, frequency, period, and outcomes were analyzed. Lung (MA-IC1) and Ear Shenmen (MA-TF1) were the most used acupoints. The number of treatments varied between a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 24, and treatment duration varied between a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 8 weeks. Cigarette consumption and smoking cessation rate were the most studied outcome, followed by multiple other psychological indications.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.249-257
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for ankle sprains using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool, using electronic databases (GIN, PubMed, EMBASE, NCKM, CNKI, CiNii, WanFang database, RISS, and SCOPUS), to suggest strategies for improvement in the future. The search was performed on April 23, 2021 and 10 CPGs were selected for evaluation. Three CPGs were recommended without modification (Class A scores), five were recommended with modification (Class B), and two were not recommended (Class C scores). The CPG domain that received the lowest score was "applicability." The traditional medicine CPGs scored higher [Class A (n = 1) and Class B (n = 1)] than the conventional Western medicine CPGs [Class A (n = 2), Class B (n = 4), and Class C (n = 2)] and were considered to be more methodical. In the future, more research into traditional medicine is required.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.146-158
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• 2021

Background: This study was designed to statistically analyze the year, gender, age, insurance type, and condition/disease of patients who were admitted to the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine at DaeJeon Korean Medicine Hospital over a 5-year period (2015-2020). Methods: Patients who visited the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine at DaeJeon Korean Medicine Hospital were classified according to year, gender, age, insurance type, and condition/disease. The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 23.0. Results: There is an increasing number of patients attending the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine year-on-year over the 5-year period, with a higher frequency of females than males each year. The largest age groups represented in these patients were those aged in their 50s, followed by those aged in their 40s, and 60s. Furthermore, the number of patients using health insurance was greater than those using automobile insurance each year. Of the 5,061 patients, the most common group was the patients (n = 991) who reported sprain and strain of cervical spine, followed by lumbar spine, lumbar herniation of the intervertebral disc, and facial paralysis. Conclusion: The number of patients seeking traditional Korean medicine treatment continues to increase, particularly in the 40s to 60s age group, with a larger proportion using health insurance and sprain or strain of the cervical spine. The results of this study may be used as a local (Daejeon) reference to develop Korean medicine policies, such as setting up medical benefits for patients using Korean medicine hospitals.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.329-343
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• 2023

Recently, acupuncture has demonstrated extraordinary clinical results in the treatment of several categories of health conditions worldwide. The mechanisms of action of acupuncture (including immune mechanisms) have been investigated by biomedical studies over the last few decades. The immune mechanisms of representative clinical conditions and their clinical effects were thoroughly assessed, with a comprehensive investigation into the mechanisms of action of acupuncture (including immune responses) in this study. Conditions such as stroke, migraine, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, lower back pain, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, sepsis, and allergic diseases were meticulously examined. This in-depth analysis aims to ensure a foundational understanding of the immune mechanisms involved in acupuncture, thereby serving as an initial step toward integrating the impact of acupuncture on the immune system.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Between May 2014 and April 2022, a total of 926 articles were retrieved from the international database, and a total of 233 articles were retrieved from the Korean database. From there, 14 studies were selected, and evaluated by the published year, terminology of the acupotomy, sample size, disease type, retention time, treatment sites, insertion depth and size of the acupotomy, treatment frequency, and duration, type of acupotomy manipulation method, evaluation index, therapeutic effects, adverse effects, and assessment of the risk of bias in randomized controlled trials. This study examined the need for additional acupotomy studies to secure an objective basis for the application of clinical treatment. Furthermore, the detailed description of the study methods and results and unified terminology can provide evidence for the efficacy of acupotomy.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.16-34
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• 2023

Herpes zoster (HZ) results from the reactivation of a varicella-zoster virus infection and is accompanied by moderate-to-severe pain in most patients. The most common treatment is medication; however, there are still limitations. Acupuncture reportedly has meaningful therapeutic effects and is a possible alternative option in HZ. However, no systematic reviews examining the use of acupuncture and electro-acupuncture (EA) alone have been published; in this study, we therefore aimed to systematically review those techniques. We searched for clinical trials of acupuncture and EA treatment for HZ up to October 2022. Trials that used acupuncture were included. Outcomes were visual analog scale (VAS) and effective rate. Secondary outcomes were time to pain relief, time to pain elimination, incrustation, decrustation, lastly incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). In total, 22 randomized controlled trials were included in this research. Compared with conventional medication therapy, acupuncture was associated with a significant improvement in VAS, effective rate, and times to pain relief and elimination. Times to new blister cessation, incrustation, and decrustation (days) were significantly improved. Furthermore, the incidence rate of PHN was lower in acupuncture groups. The results suggest that acupuncture could be a reasonable treatment option for patients with HZ who suffer from pain and accompanying symptoms.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to describe the treatment of the clinical symptoms of syringomyelia using Korean medicine. A patient with syringomyelia complained of back and shoulder pain, numbness of the upper right limb, headaches and dyspnea. He was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and physical therapy. The Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to score sensory symptoms (pain, numbness) and Modified Borg scale (mBorg) was used to score dyspnea. After the treatment, his symptoms were relieved. The patient's chief complaint was back and shoulder pain which was reduced greatly from a VAS score of 6 between 1-2. The results in this study may contribute to the development of the Korean medicine field of syringomyelia in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.154-160
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• 2019

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical dispute cases in Acupuncture and Moxibustion treatment, and present the guidelines of treatment to prevent medical disputes. Methods: Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine Society medical dispute cases from January 2013 to September 2018 were collected and analyzed. Results: There were 80 cases, which included acupuncture treatment (54 cases), cupping treatment (7 cases), local infection / inflammation (17 cases), and neurological symptoms (13 cases). Analysis of the correlation between types of medical accidents and the treatment methods, showed that local infection and inflammation (12 cases) were the most reported in acupuncture treatment. Conclusion: This study was performed to analyze the current status of medical disputes in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion, and provide basic data for guidelines to prevent them. Further study preparing for clinical guidelines to prevent medical disputes in specific departments are warranted in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.172-181
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• 2019

This case report relates to a 40-year old male patient diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis who was treated with acupotomy and traditional Korean medicine. He showed a significant improvement in joint range of motion (ROM) in cervical and lumbar vertebrae, and in pain and functional disorder symptoms. The patient received acupotomy, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine and physical therapy (November 26, 2018 to December 17, 2018). Joint ROM for cervical and lumbar vertebrae was measured, and the pain level was assessed using a numerical rating scale. The functional disorder and quality of life scales were also assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire. After applying acupotomy and traditional Korean medicine, the patient exhibited increased joint ROM and reduced pain, also in conjunction with improved responses in functional disorder and quality of life.