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Acupuncture for carpal tunnel syndrome: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21093382     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Data-Review    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Acupuncture is a widely used symptomatic treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupuncture-like treatments for CTS. Systematic searches were conducted on 11 electronic databases without language restrictions. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture as a treatment of CTS were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Six RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was generally low. Two RCTs compared the effectiveness of acupuncture with a sham control. The others used active controls. A meta-analysis of acupuncture versus steroid block therapy favored acupuncture (2 studies, n = 144; risk ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.52; P = .005; heterogeneity, I(2) = 10%) in terms of responder rate. Our systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate that the evidence for acupuncture as a symptomatic therapy of CTS is encouraging but not convincing. The total number of included RCTs and their methodological quality were low. Further rigorous studies are required to establish whether acupuncture has therapeutic value for this indication. PERSPECTIVE: This systematic review of RCTs focused on clinical trials testing the effectiveness of acupuncture for CTS. The existing evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that acupuncture is an effective therapy for CTS. Further RCTs should overcome the limitation of previous studies.
Authors:
Hoseob Sim; Byung-Cheul Shin; Myeong Soo Lee; Aram Jung; Hyangsook Lee; Edzard Ernst
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article     Date:  2010-11-19
Journal Detail:
Title:  The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society     Volume:  12     ISSN:  1528-8447     ISO Abbreviation:  J Pain     Publication Date:  2011 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-03-08     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100898657     Medline TA:  J Pain     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  307-14     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan, South Korea.
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