Stimulated by Zheng et al 2023.[1] Visual abstract from the publication by Zheng et al in Annals.[1] CSU – chronic spontaneous urticariaEiC – editor in chiefMCID – minimal clinically important differenceUAS7 – urticaria activity score (weekly sum of daily measures of itch and wheal severity)CI – confidence interval key to acronyms This is the first … Continue reading Acupuncture for CSU
Stimulated by Chang et al 2023.[1] Modified slightly from BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CSU – chronic spontaneous urticariaCIU – chronic idiopathic urticaria (same as CSU)NHIRD – National Health Insurance Research DatabaseLHID – Longitudinal Health Insurance DatabaseaHR – adjusted hazard ratio key to acronyms This is another of the large retrospective observational … Continue reading Hypertension risk in CSU 2023
Stimulated by Li et al 2023.[1] Figure 2 from Li et al 2023.[1] RCT – randomised controlled trialVAS – visual analogue score key to acronyms This is the second moderately large (n=106) controlled trial of acupuncture in endometriosis. It is a sham controlled trial. The first was a similarly sized (n=101) cross-over trial using acupuncture … Continue reading Acupuncture for endometriosis pain 2023
Stimulated by Yu and Kim 2023.[1] Figure summarising mechanisms from Yu and Kim 2023.[1] MA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureSR – systematic reviewPWL – paw withdrawal latencyPWT – paw withdrawal thresholdRoB – risk of biasWMA – Western medical acupunctureNSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs key to acronyms I have long pondered on the difference between what … Continue reading Acupuncture for acute arthritis 2023
Stimulated by Liao et al 2023.[1] MDD – major depressive disorderWMA – Western medical acupunctureTCM – traditional Chinese medicineBPI – brief pain inventoryRCT – randomised controlled trialGRADE – Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (a method of grading the quality or ‘certainty’ and strength or ‘effect size’ of evidence in healthcare)ES – effect sizeHAM-D … Continue reading Acupuncture for comorbid pain and depression 2023
Inspired by Liu et al 2023.[1] Figure 1 from Liu et al 2023.[1] INA – intranasal acupuncturePAR – persistent allergic rhinitisWM – western medicine (in this case – nasal steroid and antihistamine)VAS – visual analogue scaleRQLQ – rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire key to acroyms I first came across INA when a consultant ENT surgeon (a … Continue reading Intranasal acupuncture 2023
Inspired by Wang et al 2022.[1] EA protocol used in Wang et al 2022 (left), and what I would do in the same circumstances (right). EA – electroacupunctureERAS – enhanced recovery after surgeryPOI – postoperative ileusMA – manual acupunctureTEAS – transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (a form of TENS)TTNS – transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (a form … Continue reading EA for ERAS 2022
Inspired by Xian et al 2022.[1] Photo by NCI on Unsplash. SR – systematic reviewEA – electroacupunctureRCT – randomised controlled trialAPACHE – acute physiology and chronic health evaluationAPACHE II – a score applied to patients on admission to ICU for risk stratificationICU – intensive care unitMD – mean differenceCI – confidence interval key to acronyms … Continue reading Acupuncture and reduced mortality
Inspired by Lv et al 2022.[1] MC's favourite protocol for prophylaxis of systemic inflammation. Frequencies vary with the device used: Cefar Acus 4 – 2Hz burst; AS Super 4 Digital – 2/15Hz dense dispersed; ITO ES130 – 10Hz. EA – electroacupunctureLPS – lipopolysaccharide (derived from bacterial cell membranes)TNFα – tumour necrosis factor alphaIL-1β – interleukin … Continue reading ST36 EA and T cells in sepsis
Inspired by Gellrich et al 2022.[1] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com SAR – Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (aka hay fever)aka – also known asAR – allergic rhinitisRCT – randomised controlled trialMA – manual acupunctureARC – Acupuncture in Routine Care (acronym for a set of pragmatic trials within theModellvorhaben Akupunktur)ICER – incremental cost-effectiveness ratioQALY – quality adjusted … Continue reading Acupuncture for SAR 2022
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