Acupuncture: an evidence-based review of the clinical literature

This chapter reviews the experimental literature on the effects of acupuncture treatment. The review covers the 14 medical conditions for which the National Institutes of Health Acupuncture Consensus Development Panel (NIHCDP) concluded that acupuncture either is effective (2 conditions) or may be useful (12 conditions). My conclusions partially support those of the NIHCDP. There is evidence that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of postoperative and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Also, some data indicate that acupuncture may be useful for headache, low back pain, alcohol dependence, and paralysis resulting from stroke (4 of the 12 conditions for which the NIHCDP found that acupuncture may be useful). For most of the remaining conditions, there is little evidence that acupuncture is either effective or ineffective. It is recommended that workers in the field design double blind, sham controlled trials using adequate acupuncture treatment regimens, with specific hypotheses, and sample sizes sufficient to allow both positive and negative conclusions.