[Acupuncture and bronchial asthma]

The 66 randomized patients with mild bronchial asthma who took part in this study were divided into three nearly equal groups. Group one was treated with true acupuncture during the first and the fourth month (up to week 16). Group two was treated similarly but needled at non-acupuncture points. The third group served as a control. All patients were allowed to maintain their normal asthma medication with the recommendation to keep the regimen unchanged until week 20, i. e. 4 weeks after termination of the specific treatment. The changes in peak flow variability up to week 16 served as main outcome criterion. Additional parameters included several spirometric analyses as well as various markers in blood and sputum that are specific for the allergic inflammatory reaction of the upper respiratory tract. The values measured showed considerable individual variability. This impeded the demonstration of efficacy. In conclusion it can be stated that there was a consistent, positive yet unspecified effect of the needling in both treated groups which can be interpreted as a trend in affecting the asthmatic condition. This effect could have been more pronounced or even clinically relevant for certain individuals had one considered a separate analysis of the data of each patient.