• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.519-536
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to figure out which acupoints are selected to treat low back pain and attempt to analyze the effectiveness of those acupoints in current clinical trials. Methods : We searched the three electronic databases(PUBMED, RISS, KISS) and manually checked related Korean journals and reference lists up to April 2012. We included randomized controlled trials, clinical controlled trials, and case reports/series using needle type acupuncture( manual acupuncture, electronic acupuncture) to treat low back pain in English and Korean. We investigated the frequency of selected acupoints, change of visual analogue scale of low back pain and statistical significance in each study among trials. Results : We included 37 articles(Domestic 17, International 20) 53 studies(Domestic 28, International 25) in this study. The most frequently adopted acupoints were BL23, BL24, BL25, GB30, BL26, BL60, BL32, BL40, KI3, GV3, ST36 in domestic studies and BL23, BL25, BL40, BL60, GB30, GB34, BL32, BL26 in international studies. There were differential effectiveness of acupoints between domestic and the international studies using statistical significance of visual analog scale for low back pain. Conclusions : These results suggest that both proximal and distal acupoints based on meridian theory were used in clinical trials to treat low back pain. It would be helpful to provide clinical guideline, evaluate the results of clinical trials appropriately, and reveal the effectiveness of acupoints.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.136-144
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• 2019

Early identification and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were reported to be important for outcomes or clinical courses. However, there have been a few robust evidences for effectiveness of early intervention until now. This review aims to identify the effectiveness of early intervention by investigating the randomized controlled trial (RCT) of early intervention for autism. There are some RCT studies using behavioral program. Although there are some significant findings, the outcome measurements and small sample size are the limitations. Further studies are needed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.1206-1224
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• 2018

Purpose: This systematic review was planned and performed in order to determine the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: We searched related randomized controlled trials in several medical online databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Public/Publisher MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), National Digital Science Library (NDSL), and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS). NAFLD related outcomes were extracted from the included trials and meta-analyzed. Results: From the 8 included trials, the values of the following examinations were extracted: liver ultrasonography, liver CT, body fat CT, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting blood sugar (FBS), hosmeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), weight, body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), obesity degree, body fat mass, body fat rate, leptin, malondialdehyde (MDA), and super oxide dismutase (SOD). In the 4 outcomes, cure rate in liver ultrasonography (RR=1.56; 95%CI=1.05~2.31; P=0.03), cure rate in liver CT (RR=2.23; 95%CI=1.33~3.72; P=0.002), TC (MD=-0.78; 95%CI=-1.41~-0.15; P=0.02), and TG (MD=-2.05; 95%CI=-3.88~-0.21; P=0.03), acupuncture was more effective than the control intervention. Conclusions: In this meta-analysis, acupuncture relieved hepatic steatosis, and reduced TC, and TG in NAFLD patients. more well-planned studies are still needed due to the heterogeneity and the considerable methodological flaws in the analyzed trials.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.43-53
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to review of Clinical trials related to the treatment of chemotherapy induced-toxicity by acupuncture therapy. Methods : We searched PubMed by using word of "chemotherapy induced, acupuncture" (Limits : Full text available, 10 years, Clinical trials, Humans, English). We analyzed 15 research paper and examined published journals, years, countries, topic, study design, their results, interventions, participants and instruments of assessment. Results : Eleven journals with fifteen papers were searched. These papers were published in USA, Germany, etc. On the topic of these clinical trials, seven of them were about nausea(vomiting), two about peripheral neuropathy, two about hot flash, two about arthralgia and one about neutropenia, one about fatigue. Six of these studies were single blinded, randomized controlled trial. Twelve studies reported significant effect. The median for number of final participants was 35.5 persons. Assessment for outcomes were versatile questionnaire, nerve conduction studies, WBC, ANC, G-CSF examination, etc. Conclusions : Their median for impact factor was 3.650 and average modified Jadad score of six RCTs was 4.33. In order to provide appropriate evidence regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture in treatment for chemotherapy-induced toxicity, more rigorous and well-designed studies are necessary.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.74-86
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• 2016

Objectives: This article aims to review clinical studies related to traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) up to date. Methods: EMBASE, Pubmed and eight Korean databases were searched for clinical studies about TKM for CRCI up to July 2016. We selected articles about subjects with cancer, using TKM interventions including acupuncture, moxibustion or herbal medicine, containing assessment about cognitive function. Results: Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one randomized controlled feasibility study were included. Selected studies were containing assessments about cognitive function but not as primary outcomes. The three studies included one acupuncture study and two herbal-medicine studies. Only one herbal-medicine study showed improvement in cognitive function. Conclusions: Few clinical studies mainly focusing CRCI treated with TKM have been performed and have shown contradictory results until now. Future studies should be performed considering findings from pre-clinical and clinical studies altogether, and they should be controlled to minimize risk of bias thorough out overall courses of designing, conducting and reporting them.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.167-174
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• 2018

Despite recent clinical guidelines, the optimal therapeutic strategy for the management of refractory chronic cough is still a challenge. The present systematic review was designed to assess the evidence for efficacy and safety of gabapentin in the treatment of chronic cough. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library databases, and publications cited in bibliographies was performed. Articles were searched by two reviewers with a priori criteria for study selection. Seven relevant articles were identified, including two randomized controlled trials, one prospective case-series designed with consecutive patients, one retrospective case series of consecutive patients, one retrospective case series with unknown consecutive status, and two case reports comprising six and two patients, respectively. Improvements were detected in cough-specific quality of life (Leicester Cough Questionnaire score) and cough severity (visual analogue scale score) following gabapentin treatment in randomized controlled trials. The results of prospective case-series showed that the rate of overall improvement of cough and sensory neuropathy with gabapentin was 68%. Gabapentin treatment of patients with chronic cough showed superior efficacy and a good safety record compared with placebo or standard medications. Additional randomized and controlled trials are needed.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.116-126
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was to analyze the characteristics and effect size of intervention studies that used acupressure for the control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Methods: Nine electronic databases including Korea Education Research and Information, the National Assembly Library, KISS, Korea Med, NDSL, PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane library, and OVID (to December, 2009) were searched. Thirteen studies of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials (CCTs) were selected. Data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 18.0. Results: Overall effect size of acupressure was moderate (0.684). Nausea had a moderate effect size (0.770) and nausea and vomiting had a high effect size (0.899). Acupressure using sticker needles had a high effect size (1.368) among finger acupressure, si-acupuncture, and wrist band treatment. Conclusion: This study suggests that acupressure using sticker needles on the spots of nei-guan, chok-samni and hap-kok can reduce the levels of nausea and vomiting in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. For improving the reliability of the meta-analysis results, further randomized controlled trials with better study methodology are needed.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to compare the outcomes of manual stretching treatment with those of motor development and positioning physical therapy (MDPPT) for congenital muscular torticollis (CMT). This study was designed to be randomized controlled trials and to evaluate the outcomes of 43 consecutive patients with CMT who were first seen when they were average 26 days old. Before treatments, the patients were unintentionallv classified into two clinical groups along with the treatment methods. Among the 43 patients, 22 were classified to the manual stretching group and 21 to the MDPPT group. By means of independent t-test on the result. the duration of treatment according to methods was not significantly different in two groups (p>.05). The duration of treatment in accordance with head tilt level was not significantly different in two groups (p>.05). There was change of mass diameter, between at the beginning day of treatment and after treatment in manual stretching group with a strong positive linear correlation (p=.000, r=.734), but slightly positive linear correlation in MDPPT group. The result of this study indicates that two therapeutic methods make little difference in effectiveness.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.110-127
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• 2018

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of traditional herbal medicine (THM) in the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) versus conventional western medicine. Methods: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) comparing THM vs. conventional western medicine for DUB, were obtained from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, RISS, NDSL, KISS and OASIS. The risk of bias was assessed by using Cochrane's risk of bias tool. Results: 16 RCTs with 1,659 patients were identified and reviewed. 10 RCTs reported THM was statistically effective than control group in effective rate. Also recurrent rate was estimated in 6 RCTs and was lower than control group. 7 studies observed adverse events (AEs) and severe AEs were not reported. Conclusions: Despite several limitations, this review suggested that THM was safe and effective in the treatment of DUB. THM may also decrease the recurrence rate. However, this could not be proven conclusively. To ensure evidence-based clinical practice, more sternly designed trials are warranted.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.227-244
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• 2019

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of application of Traditional East Asian Herbal Medicine (TEAM) in the treatment of Atrophic Vaginitis (AV). Methods: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) were obtained from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, RISS, NDSL, and KISS. The risk of bias was assessed by using Cochrane's risk of bias tool, and RevMan 5.3 software was used. Results: 26 RCTs with 3,162 patients were identified and reviewed. Among them, 21 RCTs observe the effect of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. 23 RCTs reported treatment groups was statistically effective than control groups in the study. Also, the recurrence rate was estimated in 10 RCTs and was lower than control groups. 12 studies observed adverse events (AEs) and severe AEs were not reported. Conclusions: This review suggested that TEAM was safe and effective in the treatment of AV. TEAM may also decrease the recurrence rate. However, this could not be proven conclusively. To ensure evidence-based clinical practice, well-designed trials with larger sample sizes are needed.