| A review on the complementary effects of auriculotherapy in managing constipation. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20423213 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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BACKGROUND: Constipation is a common health problem that adversely affects an individual's general health and quality of life. Constipated people usually manage the problem by taking laxatives and by modifying their lifestyle even if such have questionable therapeutic effects. Auriculotherapy, a safe treatment modality in Chinese medicine, has been reported to be effective in managing constipation. Despite previous studies reported encouraging results in using auriculotherapy, its effectiveness in managing constipation has not been systematically reviewed. This review, therefore, examines previous studies that have investigated the effectiveness of auriculotherapy in managing constipation. METHOD: A search in the databases of MEDLINE EMBASE, AMED, and China Academic Journals Full-text Database and manual searching were performed to identify relevant clinical studies. RESULTS: A total of 29 relevant clinical studies conducted from 1994 to 2008 were identified. All of the studies reported that auriculotherapy was effective in managing constipation. However, generalization of their findings was limited because of two significant methodological flaws: (1) uncertainty in accurate acupoints identification and subjects' compliance to instructions resulted in varied doses of intervention received; and (2) inconsistent intervention protocols and therapeutic outcome criteria made comparison among different studies difficult. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this review could provide pertinent information for researchers in terms of study designs and methodologies that may be used for future studies. The use of randomized controlled trials on a sample of sufficient size and of standard intervention protocol is recommended to provide empirical evidence that will support auriculotherapy as a complementary strategy in managing constipation. |
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Authors:
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Mei-Kuen Li; Tze-Fan D Lee; Kwai-Ping L Suen |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) Volume: 16 ISSN: 1557-7708 ISO Abbreviation: J Altern Complement Med Publication Date: 2010 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-04-28 Completed Date: 2010-09-30 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9508124 Medline TA: J Altern Complement Med Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 435-47 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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School of Science and Technology, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. mkli@ouhk.edu.hk |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Acupuncture Points Acupuncture, Ear* Clinical Protocols Constipation / therapy* Humans Patient Compliance Research Design Treatment Outcome Uncertainty |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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