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Correlation between acupuncture dose and effectiveness in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review

Authors :
Lu Lu Lin
Jing Weng Yang
Lixing Lao
Jian-Feng Tu
Yong Ting Li
Guang Xia Shi
Ning Sun
Cun-Zhi Liu
Source :
Acupuncture in Medicine. 37:261-267
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
SAGE Publications, 2019.

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture is a widely used treatment for knee osteoarthritis, but evidence of its effectiveness from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is contradictory. Objective: To systematically review RCTs to determine whether the effect of acupuncture is dose dependent for symptom management in knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Seven English/Chinese databases were searched through January 2017. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Slavin’s qualitative best-evidence synthesis approach was used to provide methodological rigour. Included RCTs were separated into three categories according to the dose of acupuncture treatment: high dosage (HD), medium dosage (MD) and low dosage (LD). Correlation between dose and effect of treatment was analysed. Results: Eight RCTs with a total of 2106 subjects met the eligibility criteria. Numbers of studies using the various doses of acupuncture were 1 for LD, 1 for MD and 6 for HD, respectively. Compared with LD and MD acupuncture treatments, strong evidence showed that there was a positive correlation between HD acupuncture treatment and positive outcomes. Conclusion: The effect of acupuncture may be associated with dose of acupuncture, with a higher dosage related to better treatment outcomes in terms of relief of pain and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Details

ISSN :
17599873 and 09645284
Volume :
37
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Acupuncture in Medicine
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....1f10dce81a554a38a8b85f2d9b6a1a3c
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2017-011608