Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation (한방재활의학과학회지)

The society of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation (한방재활의학과학회)
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Randomized Controlled Trials of Acupuncture for Healthy Volunteers in Korea: A Systematic Review

국내에서 수행된 건강인 대상 침 관련 무작위 대조 임상연구에 대한 체계적 문헌 고찰

  • Sagong, Hye-Seon (School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Kim, Hyun-Tae (School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Heo, In (Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital) ;
  • Shin, Byung-Cheul (Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital)
  • 사공혜선 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원) ;
  • 김현태 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원) ;
  • 허인 (부산대학교한방병원 한방재활의학과) ;
  • 신병철 (부산대학교한방병원 한방재활의학과)
  • Received : 2020.12.16
  • Accepted : 2021.01.15
  • Published : 2021.01.31
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Abstract

Objectives Domestic acupuncture research is being actively conducted in various fields. The aim of this study is to systematically analyze the current acupuncture randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted on healthy volunteers. Methods We searched RCTs by the search terms of (acupuncture & random & healthy) in 10 electronic databases and related journals. Then, we analyzed the characteristics and assessed the risk of bias by Cochrane tool. Results Finally, 49 acupuncture RCTs on health volunteers were included in our analysis. The purpose of research could be classified into five major categories: (1) checking the effects on physiological function, (2) comparing the effects of different acupuncture/acupuncture methods, (3) a study confirming improvement after inducing a specific condition, (4) a sham acupuncture study, and (5) a comparison of acupuncture sense. The Cochrane risk of bias was generally high, especially only 1 trial adopted allocation concealment (1/49, 2.0%) and 9 ones with assessor blinding (9/49, 18.4%). Conclusions Acupuncture RCTs in healthy subjects have confirmed various effects in various age/sex groups. However the research quality should be updated for future clinical research and to draw clear conclusion within rigorous methodology.

Keywords

References

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