• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3139-3144
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• 2014

Background: Medical treatment for eliminating the side effects of cancer therapy may not always be efficacious. Acupuncture is one of the most widely accepted alternative and complementary therapies in use today. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in patients experiencing cancer treatment side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 inpatients who underwent chemotherapy between February and April 2013 in the Oncology Department of Numune Hospital were included in our study. Acupuncture was administered to the patients one day prior to chemotherapy, on the day of chemotherapy and one day after chemotherapy. The patients were evaluated on nausea, vomiting, pain, sleep quality and anxiety before the chemotherapy and on the $4^{th}$ day of chemotherapy. Results: Of the 45 patients included in the study, 18 (40%) were female and 27 (60%) were male. A total of 25 (55.6%) had an elementary school education; 32 patients (71%) had stage 4 cancer and were treated with palliative chemotherapy (the patient characteristics are shown in Table 1). Statistically significant decreases (p<0.001) in pain, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and anxiety scores were observed after the acupuncture treatment compared to baseline. There were no differences in the age, gender, education level, stage or metastasis levels between the patient groups whose symptoms improved or were unchanged. Conclusions: Our study showed that acupuncture has positive effects in cancer treatment patients who experience nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety as side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-related side effects in cancer patients could be decreased by the concurrent use of acupuncture.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.51-64
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• 2010

Objectives : To introduce and compare various headache measurement tools, in order to provide fundamental information for future clinical trials and development of oriental medicine measurement tools. Methods : Eight headache assessment scales, Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire(MQoLQ), Migraine-Specific Quality of Life(MSQOL), Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire(MSQ), The Headache Impact Questionnaire(HImQ), Headcahe Needs Assessment Survey(HANA), Henry Ford Headache disability Inventory(HDI), Migraine Disablity Assessment Scale(MIDAS) and Headache Impact Test(HIT-6), were searched through Pubmed. General character, the process of development, verification of reliability, internal consistency, responsiveness to patient's change and validity were reviewed. Results : In assessing the quality of life of migraine patients, MQoLQ can be used to measure the change within 24 hours, MSQ and MSQOL can be used to measure the change during a relatively longer period of time. The frequency and bothersomeness of headache can be easily measured by HANA. HImQ can be used to measure the intensity of headache and the influence on normal daily activities. HDI can measure the emotional difficulties of headache patients. HIT-6 and MIDAS makes measurements possible in a short period of time, and the reliability and validity have been verified numerously. HIT-6 and MIDAS are the most frequently used measurement tools because they are simple and easy for both the assessor and the patient to understand and use. Conclusions : In this study, various headache assessment tools have been reviewed. The assessed tools were widely used after being verified for their reliability and validity. We hope this study provides fundamental information in establishing future clinical trial and clinical practice guidelines. We also hope this study to contribute to the development of an oriental medicine assessment tool for headache.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 2023

Background: Poor sleep quality is associated with psychoactive substance abuse/addiction/withdrawal. Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a nonpharmacological method used for the treatment of sleep disturbances. This study aimed to examine the quality of sleep before and after AA in participants with mental and behavioral disorders due to prior multiple drug use in the therapeutic community. Methods: This was a consecutive case series of 27 participants (25 male [92.6%]). The median age was 35.0 years (interquartile range [IQR], 29.0-37.2 years), methadone/buprenorphine were not used, and the participants were treated with AA (median number of treatments, 15.0 [IQR, 12.0-18.0]) during a median period of 51.0 days (IQR, 49.0-51.0 days) according to the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA)-Acudetox protocol. Sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-rated questionnaire that assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month interval. Results: The global PSQI score dropped (indicating better sleep quality) by a median of 3.0 points (IQR, 0.0-8.0 points) after treatment. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, with an increase in global PSQI score during AA by 1 point, there was a 0.73-fold reduction in the risk of poor sleep quality post-AA (adjusted odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-1.01; p<0.055; Nagelkerke's R² =0.66). Conclusion: The results revealed a positive effect of AA (by the NADA-Acudetox protocol) on sleep quality (as measured by PSQI) among participants in a treatment center with mental and behavioral disorders due to multiple drug use.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.216-224
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• 2010

Objective : The purpose of this study was investigated the effect of auricular Acupuncture treatment in Allergic rhinitis patients. Methods : This study was carried out on the 16 allergic rhinitis patients who had been treated at Cheongdogun public health center for The Good-Breath program. The Good-Breath program included auricular acupuncture was performed 2 times a week during 4 weeks. Auricular acupuncture points used were M101(肺), M13(副腎), M16(內鼻), M22(內分泌), M33(額), M55(神門). Patients nasal symptoms and QOL were assessed before and after 4 weeks treatment by the Severity Scoring Systems of Rhinitis(SSSR) and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Korean Rhinitisian(QLQKR). Results : 1. Total Severity Scoring Systems of Rhinitis(SSSR) Scores were significantly improved. but Each items was no significant difference. 2. Among items of QLQKR, Itching worry about western medicine worry about change of environment Role limitation-physical were significantly improved. and Total Quality of Life Questionnaire for Korean Rhinitisian(QLQKR) Scores were significantly improved.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.147-158
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to review the recent research trends of evidence based medicine, especially human randomized controlled trials on acupuncture. Methods : The articles were collected by retrieving the database of Pubmed and Journal of Korean Acupuncture & Moxibustion Society. The retrieving period was from October 2003 to September 2008, and the search term was 'acupuncture'. The articles were classified according to their publication journals, countries, publication years, targeted diseases, types of acupuncture and types of control. Results : In total, 558 articles in Pubmed and 35 articles in Journal of Korean Acupuncture & Moxibustion Society were searched. The number of articles on acupuncture research has increased with higher rate since 2000, but the Qualitative development has not achieved the same amplitude. Studies in Korea were insufficient both in Qualitative and Quantitative aspects. In countries, China had the most papers, and in targeted diseases, pain diseases were most dominant. In the types of acupuncture, classical acupuncture, and in the types of control, conventional western treatment showed the highest frequency. Conclusions: We need to do many-sided and more high Quality researches on acupuncture. For that, well-designed randornized trials are absolutely necessary.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1101-1111
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate quality of reporting acupuncture intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) based on the STRICTA and CONSORT guidelines Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trial studies of acupuncture treatment for MCI in the MEDLINE (PubMed) database. Once the online search was completed, studies were selected manually by the inclusion criteria, and the selected studies were evaluated by STRICTA and CONSORT guidelines. Results: Five studies were included. The most frequently selected points for acupuncture treatment of MCI were on the head, such as GV20, EX-HN1, GV24, and GB20. By STRICTA guidelines, all items from STRICTA were reported except three items on the checklist. By CONSORT guidelines, apart from six items which were not available, quality assessment was performed with 31 items. Eighteen items were reported by 80% of the studies. Four items were reported by 40% of the studies and another four items were reported by 20% of the studies. One item was not reported in all studies. Conclusion: Most items were reported by STRICTA guidelines, whereas many items were insufficiently reported based on CONSORT guidelines. This needs to be considered in future RCTs of acupuncture treatment for MCI.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.319-328
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this research was to compare the effect of general acupuncture therapy to Hominis placenta Pharmacopuncture therapy on pain and discomfort of severe dyspepsia in upper abdomen. Methods : We investigated 60 cases of patients with severe dyspepsia, who had been treated at Dept. of Internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine Dongeui University from May 2011 to September 2012. We divided patients into two groups : Group I was treated by general acupuncture(ACU, n=30) and Group II was treated by Hominis placenta Pharmacopuncture therapy(PHA, n=30). The symptoms and quality of life were measured with the Nepean dyspepsia index-Korean version(NDI-K) at baseline and 2 weeks. The responsiveness of the NDI-K was evaluated by correlation with symptom scores. Results : In ACU group, the 13 symptom scores were significantly decreased after treatment(p<0.05). In PHA group, the 9 symptom scores were significantly decreased after treatment(p<0.05). In ACU group, the 3 Quality of life(QOL) scores were significantly increased after treatment(p<0.01). In PHA group, the 3 QOL scores were significantly increased after treatment(p<0.05). Conclusions : General acupuncture therapy and Hominis placenta Pharmacopuncture therapy improves the symptoms and the quality of life in patients with severe dyspepsia. But there were no significant differences statistically between the two groups.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.109-121
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical trends of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on combined treatment of acupuncture and relaxation therapy. Methods: Clinical trials based on acupuncture and relaxation therapy searched and were selected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). In this study we selected clinical research articles using acupuncture and relaxation therapy as intervention. Studies were assessed by Risk of Bias (RoB) tool, and Jadad scale. Results: Eleven randomized controlled trials on combined treatment of acupuncture and relaxation therapy were selected, and these studies were published in China. Most studies have targeted psychiatric disorders such as insomnia and anxiety. Manual Acupuncture (MA) was the most used acupuncture treatment, and in five studies two or more relaxation therapies were used in parallel. Although the treatment result using acupuncture and relaxation therapy was superior, heterogeneity of the control group was high and it was difficult to estimate additional effects of relaxation therapy. Conclusions: Qualitative analysis revealed that the combination of acupuncture and relaxation was more effective than control in most studies. However, quality of most studies was low. Therefore, higher quality clinical research on combined treatment of acupuncture and relaxation therapy is required.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2020

This review aimed to compare the effectiveness of Korean medicine (KM) with Korean-Western integrative medicine (KWIM) at treating Bell's palsy. A literature search of several databases for relevant randomized controlled trials was performed. Six studies that compared KM with KWIM to treat Bell's palsy were included in this review. Acupuncture and steroids were the most commonly used treatments in KWIM. A comparison of the effectiveness of KW with KWIM did not produce consistent results. Both KM and KWIM were useful intreating Bell's palsy. KWIM was more effective than KM when the Western medicine was a steroid and was given in the early stages of treatment. However, these findings are limited due to the low quality and number of included studies. KM and KWIM are both effective in Bell's palsy, and KWIM is more effective than KM. However, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2017

Objectives : This study aims to report the effectiveness and safety of Korean medicine with thread embedding acupuncture in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Methods : A 73-year-old man who had suffered from severe facial pain for one year and who had had a healthy tooth extracted due to the pain is reported. He could not eat or sleep due to the severe pain. Acupuncture, thread embedding acupuncture, cupping, herbal steam, and herbal medicines were used for the treatment. Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and adverse events were checked daily, and other outcomes (Baseline Evaluation, Visual Analogue Scale [VAS], Short Form Health Survey 36-Bodily Pain [SF-36 BP], and Patient Global Assessment [PGA]) were measured at hospital admission and discharge. During the follow-up examinations, his pain was evaluated roughly, without using any formal measurements, on the basis of a global assessment. Results : All measured parameters, including pain, quality of life, and patient satisfaction were noted to have improved at the time of discharge compared to admission: VAS from 10 to 1.5, NRS from 7-8 to 1-2, and SF-36 BP from 0 to 22.5, and the patient's global assessment was somewhat improved. He did not take any analgesics after discharge and noted only mild adverse events, like pain where the acupuncture and thread embedding acupuncture needles were inserted. His pain relief was maintained for 6 months. Conclusion : Korean medicine with thread embedding acupuncture might be a safe and effective treatment for TN. In the future, larger sample sizes and high quality randomized clinical trials are warranted to confirm its efficacy and safety.