We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Pharmacopuncture for Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.
- Authors
Soyeon Cheon; Xiuyu Zhang; In-Seon Lee; Seung-Hun Cho; Younbyoung Chae; Hyangsook Lee
- Abstract
Background. Pharmacopuncture, injection to acupoints with pharmacological medication or herbal medicine, is a new acupuncture therapy widely available in Korea and China for cancer-related symptoms. However, the evidence is yet to be clear. Objective. To determine pharmacopuncture's effectiveness on cancer-related symptoms. Methods. Eleven databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of pharmacopuncture in cancer patients. The Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) assessment tool was used for quality assessment. Results. Twenty-two studies involving 2,459 patients were included. Five trials of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) underwent meta-analysis. Pharmacopuncture significantly relieved severity of CINV compared with control group (3 trials, risk ratio (RR) 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.44).The frequency of CINV was also significantly reduced with pharmacopuncture (2 trials, RR 2.47, 95% CI = 2.12-2.89). Seventeen trials studied various symptoms, and in most studies, pharmacopuncture significantly relieved pain, ileus, hiccup, fever, and gastrointestinal symptoms and improved quality of life in various cancer patients. ROB was generally high. Conclusion. It may be suggested with caution that pharmacopuncture may help various symptom relief in cancer patients, but it is hard to draw a firm conclusion due to clinical heterogeneity and high ROB of the included studies, hence warranting further investigation.
- Subjects
SOUTH Korea; FEVER; IATROGENIC diseases; TUMOR treatment; CANCER pain; HICCUPS; RESEARCH methodology evaluation; DRUG administration; ACUPUNCTURE points; ALTERNATIVE medicine; CANCER chemotherapy; CHI-squared test; CINAHL database; CONFIDENCE intervals; EXPERIMENTAL design; GASTROINTESTINAL system; GRAPHIC arts; MEDICAL databases; INFORMATION storage &; retrieval systems; MEDICAL information storage &; retrieval systems; BOWEL obstructions; BOTANIC medicine; MEDLINE; META-analysis; ONLINE information services; PROBABILITY theory; QUALITY of life; RESEARCH funding; TUMORS; SYSTEMATIC reviews; EVIDENCE-based medicine; PROFESSIONAL practice; STATISTICAL significance; RANDOMIZED controlled trials; TREATMENT effectiveness; PUBLICATION bias; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; ODDS ratio; DISEASE complications; EVALUATION; PREVENTION; THERAPEUTICS
- Publication
Evidence-based Complementary & Alternative Medicine (eCAM), 2014, Vol 2014, p1
- ISSN
1741-427X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1155/2014/804746