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Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis
Research into acupuncture for both perennial and seasonal rhinitis
(hayfever) continues.
A recent systematic review of the research is published on
the NHS Evidence database:
Lee, M.S., Pittler, M.H., Shin, B.C., Kim, J.I., Ernst, E.
(2009) Acupuncture for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review.
Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.102(4):269-79
It states that the bottom-line conclusion at the moment is:
"The evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for
the symptomatic treatment or prevention of AR is mixed. The
results for seasonal AR failed to show specific effects of acupuncture.
For perennial AR, results provide suggestive evidence of
the effectiveness of acupuncture."
Their assessment of the quality of the review is as follows:
"The review addressed a clearly focused issue and the
study design inclusion criteria (RCT) were clear. The literature
search was comprehensive, including a wide range of databases,
follow up of reference lists and hand searching of conference
proceedings. The authors acknowledged that unpublished material
was not sought from experts and authors. Three independent reviewers
undertook quality assessment using predefined criteria and a
recognised scale (Jadad). The cautious conclusions follow from
the results, given the potential publication bias, difficulty
in pooling results and variable quality of included studies."
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