EA for PSD

Stimulated by Yao et al 2023.[1] PSD – post-stroke dysphagiaIF – impact factorEA – electroacupunctureaka – also known asROS – reactive oxygen speciesM1 – primary motor cortexPBN – parabrachial nucleusNTS – nucleus tractus solitarius key to acronyms I am pretty selective about choosing laboratory studies to highlight on the blog. I do not have direct … Continue reading EA for PSD

Sham devices impede real acupuncture 2023

Stimulated by Lee et al 2023.[1] Photo by Iai_man_nung on Unsplash. NMA – network meta-analysisRCT – randomised controlled trialOAK – osteoarthritis of the kneeMA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureSMD – standardised mean differenceMCID – minimum clinically important differenceNICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence key to acronyms I first wrote about this on … Continue reading Sham devices impede real acupuncture 2023

Antidepressants for pain 2023

Inspired by Ferreira et al 2023.[1] Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.comI chose an image that looks a bit like one formulation of duloxetine – the SNRI that probably figures most prominently in the research discussed. NICE – National Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceSR – systematic reviewSNRIs – serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitorsCI – confidence intervalMCID … Continue reading Antidepressants for pain 2023

Acup* for ARC 2023

Inspired by Chen C et al 2023 and Chen H-T et al 2023.[1,2] Screen grab from the supplementary video file demonstrating the position of the Qiu point.[1] Acup* – Acupressure or AcupunctureARC – acute renal colicRCT – randomised controlled trialIV – intravenousNSAID – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugBCE – before common era (secular version of BC)CE – … Continue reading Acup* for ARC 2023

Stroke risk in migraine 2023

Inspired by Liao et al 2023.[1] Photo by SpotwizardLee on Pexels.com MDPI – Molecular Diversity Preservation InternationalLGTD 2005 – Longitudinal Generation Tracking Database 2005NHIRD – National Health Insurance Research DatabaseaHR– adjusted hazard ratio key to acronyms This is another one of those large retrospective cohort trials from Taiwan. Thanks to Martin Allbright for spotting it … Continue reading Stroke risk in migraine 2023

MTrP needling in GP 2023

Inspired by Yehoshua et al 2023.[1] Needling upper trapezius or GB21 with a subject sitting up and an angle that is tangential to the upper ribcage (from BMAS Points Resource). MTrP – myofascial trigger pointTrP – trigger pointDN – dry needling (mostly MTrP or TrP needling)GP – general practice or general practitioner (whichever is contextually … Continue reading MTrP needling in GP 2023

Intranasal acupuncture 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

Acupuncture vs massage in cancer pain

Inspired by Romero et al 2022.[1] Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com MSKCC – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterMA – manual acupunctureEA – electroacupunctureBPI – brief pain inventoryIMPACT – Integrative Medicine for Pain in Patients with Advanced Cancer Trial key to acronyms This is a protocol for a large-scale comparative effectiveness trial in a cancer … Continue reading Acupuncture vs massage in cancer pain

AEs in Korea and Japan 2022

Inspired by a few rare case reports and a prospective survey.[1–4] Figure 6 from Abe et al (2022) illustrating the trajectory of the lost 40mm needle shaft.[4] AEs – adverse eventsWMA – Western medical acupunctureVP shunt – ventriculoperitoneal shunt (tube connecting one cerebral ventricle to the peritoneal cavity)CSF – cerebrospinal fluidVVAVF – vertebra-vertebral arteriovenous fistulaMRA … Continue reading AEs in Korea and Japan 2022

EA after CS 2022

Inspired by Jin et al 2022.[1] EA protocol used in Jin et al 2022 (left), and what I would do in the same circumstances (right). EA – electroacupunctureCS – caesarean sectionNAPC – number of analgesic pump compressionsPCIA – patient controlled intravenous analgesiaIL-6 – interleukin 6 (a proinflammatory cytokine)TAP – tranversus abdominis plane key to acronyms … Continue reading EA after CS 2022