Inspired by He et al 2022 and Gang et al 2022.[1,2] Photo Kerry Hu on Unsplash. A panda in Chengdu. RCTs – randomised controlled trialsSR – systematic reviewCAM – complementary and alternative medicineCAIM – complementary alternative and integrative medicineLBP – low back painkey to acronyms I rarely refer to protocols on this blog. One exception … Continue reading Guidelines for acupuncture RCTs
Stimulated by Vase 2020,[1] and Krause et al 2020.[2] Image from Deniah’s initial visit to the BA first class lounge at Heathrow T5… de nada sweetie! This week I had a couple of quite different papers that caught my interest, and I have been able to link them by chance with the help of my … Continue reading de nada
Stimulated by Bao et al 2020,[1] and a few others. Image from the pre-digital era.This is yours truly after a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, somewhere close to Fort Walton Beach (FWB) in January 1990. I imagine my peripheries were a bit tingly for a few minutes. Thus, with one old image I am … Continue reading CIPN 2020 plus FFP & FWB
Inspired by Wang et al Chest 2018.[1] Photo by David Yanutama on Unsplash. I am a bit slow to comment on this paper that was published nearly a year ago. This morning a colleague from Madrid asked my opinion on an earnest letter dismissing the research.[2] I had a quick look over both and thought the original … Continue reading Acupuncture non-inferior to NRT
Inspired by observation and inequity… and a question from a patient in my clinic yesterday. In 1996 Sackett et al wrote an editorial in the BMJ titled:[1] Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn’t. The subtitle ran thus: It's about integrating individual clinical expertise and the best external evidence. Note that individual … Continue reading Too Earnest about Evidence
This was a meeting set up at fairly short notice by SAME (La Sociedad de Acupuntura Médica de España). It was an exercise designed to get media attention on the fact that there is a lot of scientific support for the practice of acupuncture. It was successful in that it got onto the national news … Continue reading The Madrid Panel
Inspired by an invitation to present on the topic to politicians in Madrid who apparently want to stop the practice of acupuncture by doctors in Spain - 18 January 2019. I have been lecturing on the scientific perspectives of acupuncture around the globe for over two decades. I have numerous PowerPoint slides to call upon, … Continue reading The problem with sham
Inspired by Ronel et al Mil Med 2018.[1] My first blog of 2019 and I have been struggling to find inspiration. That is what comes from setting yourself an arbitrary target rather than just waiting for something divine. The former is driven by the modern requirements of a social media presence, and the latter is … Continue reading 20000 needles…
This blog was first published on 26th January 2017 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/. At the time I was in Cape Town on holiday, trying to get a rapid response published to the NG59 summary in the BMJ. It was critical of NICE, and I was negotiating over content with a legal expert from BMJ! The response took three … Continue reading Acupuncture for infantile colic – misdirection in the media or over-reaction from a sceptic blogger?
This blog was first published on 30th December 2016 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ - on reviewing the Wikipedia page today, and the talk pages behind it, I see little has changed, but there has been a lot of talk behind the scenes ;-). An eloquent and tenacious colleague has asked me to write about a cause she has taken … Continue reading Is acupuncture pseudoscience?
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