Stimulated by Prinsze et al 2019.[1] Photo by Cassi Josh on Unsplash. New acronyms are guaranteed to get me guessing, but these two were a challenge. They roll off the tongue pretty well as acronyms, but I had to check both! NREs are needle-related events, so that is relevant to the blog, and TTIs are transfusion-transmissible infections ie … Continue reading NREs and TTIs in the Netherlands
Inspired by Shew et al 2019.[1] Shew et al 2019.[1] This is the first reported case of a spinal epidural abscess as a possible complication of acupuncture treatment in New Zealand. It is the 15th such report I can find in the literature (on PubMed), but this report and most others cannot make irrefutable causal … Continue reading Spinal epidural abscesses
Inspired by Llamas Fuentes et al Med Clin (Barc) 2019.[1] Image from an old version of Adam Interactive anatomy. We have another case report of a serious adverse event following acupuncture. This time cardiac damage from needling in the area of the sternum. But my title refers more to my disappointment at the entire lack … Continue reading Heartbreak
Inspired by Siqueira et al 2018.[1] A shot from the Ealing half marathon 2018 at around the 9 mile point - my arms were aching after taking over 2k of photos through a heavy zoom lens whilst waiting for my boy (5448) to come past 😀 This paper popped up on PubCrawler this morning. I’m … Continue reading Needling runners’ knees
Inspired by Priola et al 2019.[1] This is the first reported case of a cranial epidural abscess as a likely complication of acupuncture treatment. The report was written by the specialist neurosurgical team under whom the patient was admitted. This is often the case in such unusual and serious adverse events, but it also limits … Continue reading Cranial epidural abscess
Inspired by Jian et al. Medicine 2018 Last Saturday (3rd November 5, 2018) I was lecturing on the BMAS Foundation Course, and during the morning coffee break I received one of my regular email alerts from PubCrawler – an Irish website that searches (or crawls) PubMed (the US National Library of Medicine) leaving you free to … Continue reading Another fatality
Comments by Michael Meinen (MM) and Mike Cummings (MC) This blog was first published on 24th August 2018 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ Case report El-Wahsh S, Efendy J & Sheridan M. Migration of self-introduced acupuncture needle into the brainstem. J Neurosci Rural Pract 2018; 9(3): 434 – 436. Presentation An elderly man presented to an emergency department after … Continue reading Needle Migration in the neck
This blog was first published on 27th July 2017 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ I subsequently attended the Spanish Pain Society conference (#SEDPalma2018) and there was a whole session devoted to this paper and why it did not apply to the way these specialists used the technique :-/. This piece has also been stimulated by a publication in JAMA, … Continue reading Burning nerves with needles in back pain – stop the burning, just use the needles!
This blog was first published on 30th May 2017 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ This piece has been stimulated by a recent publication in JAMA evaluating the use of regular intra-articular corticosteroid injections for symptom management and cartilage volume in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.[1] Previous research had suggested that the inflammatory process in the knee was associated with … Continue reading Why not needles for OA – no steroid, just the needles!
