ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia (AA) compared with combined spinal-epidural anesthesia (CSEA) for labor pain reliefandlaboroutcomes. METHODS We evaluated 131 primiparous women who received respiratory guidance during maternal uterine contractions and received either AA (n = 43), CSEA (n = 45), or no additional treatment (control, n = 43). The groups were compared regarding visual analog scale (VAS) scores for abdominal and backpain,andlaboroutcomes. RESULTS The abdominal VAS scores of the AA and CSEA groups were significantly lower than that of the control group. In addition, theVAS scores of the CSEA group were significantly lower than that...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT Background Labor pain is multifactorial, complex, and intense due to various physiologic and psychosocial changes. Pharmacologic interventions are the most effective analgesia but have significant side-effects. Acupuncture offers benefits in labor analgesia with relatively low side-effects. Battlefield acupuncture (BFA), a subset of acupuncture, has shown effectiveness in rapid pain relief. This article reports the case of a primigravid patient who received BFA for pain relief during labor. Case This is a case study of a 32-year-old patient whose labor was induced with a Foley-bulb and Pitocin® and received BFA for pain relief. She was treated at Evans Army Community...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT Background Threatened miscarriage is a common complication of early pregnancy increasing the risk of miscarriage or premature labour. Currently there is limited evidence to recommend any biomedical pharmacological or self-care management, resulting in a ‘watchful waiting’ approach. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of offering acupuncture as a therapeutic treatment for women presenting with threatened miscarriage. Methods A mixed methods study involving a randomised controlled trial and semi structured interviews. A pragmatic acupuncture protocol including medical self-care advice was compared to an active control receiving touch intervention and medical self-care advice. Descriptive statistics were used...Weiterlesen

Die Autoren haben Unterschiede im Verlauf der Nachgeburtsperiode nach postpartaler Akupunktur des Foramens inductorium viscerum, R16 (huangshu) (AT) im Vergleich zur prophylaktischen Oxytocingabe untersucht. Dazu wurde bei 262 Gebärenden unmittelbar nach der Geburt der Akupunkt R16 genadelt, eine Vergleichsgruppe von 270 Frauen erhielt unmittelbar nach der Geburt intravenös 3 I.E. Syntocinon und bei einer Kontrollgruppe mit 265 Frauen, bei denen keine Zeichen einer verstärkten postpartalen Blutung aufgetreten waren, wurde auf jegliche Massnahmen verzichtet. Nach AT konnte die mittlere Plazentalösungszeit (12,2 +/- 7,3 min) gegenüber der Syntocinongruppe (14,3 +/- 8,6 min) und der nichtbehandelten Gruppe (14,6 +/- 8,8 min) schwach signifikant...Weiterlesen

A phase II clinical trial of a Chinese herbal decoction, Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (DBT, Dang Gui Decoction to Tonify the Blood), has shown that it can significantly improve physical and psychological scores and significantly reduce vasomotor symptoms for post-menopausal women. A randomised, double-blind, multiple-dose escalation trial was performed in 60 post-menopausal women who were experiencing severe hot flushes and night sweats. Participants were randomised to receive DBT preparations at 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0 g/day for 12 weeks. Significant between-group differences were noted in psychological/psychosocial and somatic/physical domains of menopause scales, with the greatest improvement in the 6.0 g/day...Weiterlesen

A Chinese research group has shown that treatment with Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) can prevent the recurrence of endometriosis and improve the conception rate in women who have undergone surgery for endometriosis. Two hundred and four patients were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the CHM group were treated using one of three types of CHMs, based on individual syndrome differentiation. Patients in the Western medicine (WM) group were treated using gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) or gestrinone. Patients with stage I and II endometriosis were treated for three months, while the patients with stage III and IV disease...Weiterlesen

UK authors have carried out a systematic review of the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for endometriosis-related pain and infertility. Database searches revealed 100 relevant studies, but only two Chinese RCTs were deemed of high enough quality for analysis. Meta-analysis of the pooled results involving a total of 158 women concluded that administration of CHM after laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis has effects comparable to those achieved with the drug gestrinone (a synthetic progesterone that suppresses the secretion of oestrogen by the ovaries), but with fewer side effects. In addition they concluded that oral CHM may have a better overall...Weiterlesen

ABSTRACT AIM Insulin sensitivity is ~40% lower in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) than in controls. We tested the hypothesis that 5 weeks of electroacupuncture treatment improves glucose regulation and androgen levels in overweight/obese women with PCOS. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventeen women with PCOS, aged 18 to 38 years, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 and diagnosed with PCOS were included in this experimental and feasibility study and subjected to five weeks of electroacupuncture treatments three times/week. The primary outcome was changes in whole-body glucose homeostasis measured by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp before and after the intervention. Secondary outcome were changes in...Weiterlesen

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Acupuncture can be useful for reducing vasomotor symptoms (VMS) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis. „I was impressed with the notable improvements in VMS frequency, severity, and several quality-of-life measurements with acupuncture compared with no acupuncture,” Dr. Deanna Befus from Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Center for Integrative Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told Reuters Health by email. “While follow-up time of included studies varied, some demonstrated reductions in hot flash frequency that were maintained for 12 months after baseline. This presents real promise for patients wrestling with...Weiterlesen

A meta-analysis from Taiwanese authors confirms that acupuncture can improve symptoms in women experiencing menopause. Twelve studies (869 participants) met the authors’ inclusion criteria. The results of the analysis showed that acupuncture significantly reduced the frequency and severity of hot flushes. In addition, acupuncture was shown to significantly improve psychological, somatic, urogenital symptoms and vasomotor symptoms. Acupuncture’s beneficial effects on hot flush frequency and severity were found to persist for up three months. (Effects of acupuncture on menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in women on natural menopause: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Menopause. 2014 Jul 7. Quelle: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25003620...Weiterlesen