[Complementary Medicine in ENT: How Evidence-Based is Acupuncture?]

Acupuncture has its origin in the traditional Chinese medicine and has been used for over 4000 years. By applying acupuncture needles to specific points on the body, according to the foraminology, the flow of Qi in the meridians is harmonized, thereby preventing the onset of diseases or treat diseases.

Are there evidence-based data on acupuncture, and what are the underlying standards of the studies?

A literature research was conducted using PubMed (Medline). Publications related to the topic were searched and further narrowed down by focusing on randomized, clinical, and controlled studies according to GCP guidelines, published in English language.

After applying the criteria mentioned above, 60 studies related to acupuncture in ENT remained from a total 47,741 studies. After validation, the remaining studies were presented in detail.

From 2005 to 2025, more than 87% of all publications in this field were released, indicating a current interest in the topic. A review of the scientific works revealed, that the research on acupuncture therapy includes not only clinical studies but also basic research to examine the effectiveness of acupuncture and the underlying mechanisms of action, with promising approaches emerging. However, it remains questionable if the term evidence-based study can be applied, as the choice of the control group raises many issues. Are there really ineffective acupuncture points and is double blinding possible? Ultimately, the control group is the criterion where the evidence currently (still) falls short.