• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.1100-1118
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of acupuncture as a treatment for allergic rhinitis (AR). We used a meta-analysis and systematic review to analyze the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that applied acupuncture to AR patients. Methods: The key question assessed the effects of acupuncture on patients with AR, and we included only RCTs. We searched the KoreaMed, NDSL, KMBASE, Koreantk, OASIS, PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases, with no language restriction. We assessed risk of bias with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The random effects model was used to adjust for the heterogeneity of the included studies, and the effect sizes between two groups were reported as mean differences (MD) and risk ratios (RR). Results: Twelve RCTs were analyzed, with a total of 1788 participants; 824 participants were in the treatment group (i.e., acupuncture) and 964 were in the control group (sham acupuncture, western medicine, or waitlist). The meta-analysis results of 7 RCTs comparing the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture with that of sham acupuncture showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) and the Change of Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS). The meta-analysis of 4 RCTs comparing the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture with western medicine showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the RQLQ but not in the changes in effective rate (p>0.05). Conclusions: Acupuncture can be an effective treatment for AR, but more studies are required to enhance the level of evidence and to confirm safety.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.44-54
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• 2018

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze clinical studies on effectiveness of herbal medicine in rhinosinusitis. Methods We searched the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with herbal medicine treatment on rhinosinusitis from the Pubmed in recent 10 years (from 2008 to 2018). Results 11 RCTs were reviewed. In 10 out of 11 studies showed that the herbal medicine may be effective in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyp and uncomplicated acute rhinosinusitis. However, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and outcome measures were varied among different studies. No serious adverse reactions were reported from the herbal medicine treatment. Conclusions The results of these trials showed that herbal medicine may be effective in the treatment of rhinosinusitis. Well-designed RCTs for domestic herbal medicine treatment on rhinosinusitis are needed to prove its efficacy clearly.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.18-36
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze Chinese randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the oral herbal medicine treatment for pediatric chickenpox. Methods We searched RCTs after 2000s from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Afterwards, the year of publication, demographic information, duration of chickenpox, intervention, treatment duration, outcome measure, results and adverse events were investigated and analyzed for this study. Results 21 RCTs out of 219 studies were collected and analyzed. Although each composition of the herbal medicine was different, they have common ingredients such as 清熱解毒, 散結消腫, 疏散風熱, 涼血解毒, 解表散風 in order to make efficacy of 清熱解毒, 散結消腫, 疏散風熱, 涼血解毒, 解表散風. The oral herbal medicine showed better efficacy and safety to improve clinical symptoms such as total efficacy, cure rate, antipyretic time, antipruritic time, scab time, anti-rash time, hospitalization period and herpes recovery time compared to the western medicine treatment. Conclusions These results show that the oral herbal medicine treatment on chickenpox in children may be more effective in reducing of clinical symptoms compared to the western medicine treatment.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2013

Objectives : The objective of this study is to report the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion for the treatment of fetal breech presentation. Methods : We searched papers in PubMed, using the keywords "breech and moxibustion" and "breech and acupuncture". Search range includes randomized clinical trials(RCTs), controlled clinical trials(CCTs), case reports, and case series. Each original article must have an abstract in English. Finally, 7 RCTs from 102 were included in this review. Results : As a result of analyzing the 7 RCTs, five trials hold that moxibustion or acupuncture at BL67 has been shown to produce a positive effect for the correction of breech presentation and the other two trials indicated no beneficial effect. However, one of the latter could not come to a conclusion owing to the unsatisfactory compliance record of the participants. Conclusions : Acupuncture and moxibustion may be effective to correct fetal breech presentation. In this regard, the related clinical researches are worth to be conducted.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate recent trends in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and analyze the results for the activation of COVID-19 Korean medicine research. Methods: We searched for RCTs published from December 2019 to October 2021 in the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI). The investigation focused on the type of study, the purpose of the study, and the treatment methods. Results: A total of 8 RCTs were selected and analyzed from the 447 searched studies. All studies attempted to observe the effects of herbal medicine. Herbal medicine included granules, decoctions, and intravenous injections. The most frequently used herb type was drugs for clearing away heat and detoxification and releasing the exterior syndrome. In most studies, the effectiveness of TCM treatment of COVID-19 was significantly high. Conclusions: Although more quality studies are needed to support these results, TCM treatment for COVID-19 has been effective. Therefore, we hope that Korean medicine studies on infectious diseases will be actively conducted like TCM and contribute to national health.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.110-123
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the treatments of Stomatitis in Korean medicine. Methods : We reviewed domestic journals through databases on RISS, KISS, OASIS, KISTI to search case reports and follow-up studies about 'Stomatitis' and '口瘡' using the terms with 'Korean medicine' or 'Korean medicine treatment'. Also, we used CNKI to find Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) from Chinese journals by using the term '口腔炎'. Results : A total of 16 articles were searched. Those of 7 are case report, 2 are follow-up study, 7 are RCTs. The way to treat stomatitis were through using herb medicine, acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, herbal acupuncture, external preparation, indirect moxibustion and so on. All papers reported that after Korean medicine treatment, symptoms of stomatitis are relieved. Conclusions : According to these journals, Korean medicine is helpful to treat Stomatitis. In the future, more clinical studies are needed to establish the foundation of Korean medicine to treat stomatitis.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.259-274
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide clinical evidence to support the use of auricular blood-letting therapy (ABT) for headaches. Methods: Studies were identified by a comprehensive search of five databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of the ABT for headaches were included. Two authors independently extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using Cochrane's risk-of-bias tool. If two or more studies reported the same outcome, a meta-analysis was performed. Meta-analysis results for dichotomous variables are expressed as risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of eight RCTs were included in this review. The total effective rate (TER) was the most commonly used outcome measurement. Among the eight RCTs, five were included in the metaanalysis. The TER was not statistically significantly different in the ABT group compared to the medication group (two studies, n=55, RR=1.24, 95% CI: 0.78 to 1.96, p=0.36, I² =86%). However, the TER of the combined ABT and medication group was significantly different compared to the medication alone group (four studies, n=159, RR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.35, p<0.0001, I² = 0%). Pain and mental health-related outcomes in the combined ABT and medication group were significantly different from the control groups. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was generally low. Conclusions: ABT combined with medication may be effective for treating headaches. However, the number of studies included was small, so the results were insufficient, and statistically significant effects were not confirmed for a single implementation of ABT. Thus, well-designed further studies based on the findings of this study are recommended.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.151-170
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• 2007

Backgraounds : Recent studies provide the evidences that the efficacy of acupuncture may be no better than placebo or inconclusive. These results are very different from those of the actual clinical situations in many acupuncture medical institutions. Objectives : The present study was designed to evaluate the influencing factors which affect the efficacy of acupuncture scale(FEAS) as the methodological assessment tool of acupuncture for examining acupuncture interventions and to demonstrate the importance of it in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture. Data sources : Electronic data were retrieved from NDSL, Pubmed, sciencedirect, LWW, OVID, Black-Well Synergy, Wiley Interscience, EBSCO HOST, springer, PML, and Kluwer. No electronic data were collected from MEDLIS and MEDLAS. Study selection : The inclusion criteria were five systematic reviews included in Alberta study and all randomized controlled trials obtained from their references. Study analysis : The acupuncture rationale, methods of stimulation, treatment regimen, and the practitioner's background were rated by FEAS, and the scores were compared with those by other methodological assessment tools. Results : The number of positive conclusions of high-rank RCTs by FEAS was the same as or higher than that of high-rank RCTs by other methodological assessment tools. Conclusions : We have analysed 5 systematic reviews and their objectives 58 RCTs using FEAS. Practitioner's background has been described slightly in some reviews and studies. It may directly influence the effectiveness of acupuncture negatively in the systematic reviews.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.89-100
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• 2020

Objectives : This study aimed to verify the clinical effectiveness of Baduanjin for shoulder pain. Methods : We searched 10 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CAJ, KISS, KISTI, KMBASE, RISS, NDSL, and OASIS) up to May 2020. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using Baduanjin for shoulder pain. The methodological quality of each RCT was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results : As a result of the search, a total of 6 RCTs were eligible for analysis. Of these 6 studies, one applied Baduanjin alone and 5 cases used Baduanjin in combination with other treatments, such as acupuncture or electroacupuncture. Except for 2 studies, descriptive analysis was performed without meta-analysis due to the high level of heterogeneity between studies. A high risk of bias was observed in all studies. Conclusions : When considering the results of the included papers, there was limited information derived on the therapeutic effect of using Baduanjin as a single intervention, but the results showed significant effectiveness when Baduanjin was combined with other oriental interventions, such as acupuncture and electroacupuncture, in the clinical field. Although all RCTs included in the analysis were biased to CAJ and the number was limited, this study was conducted in accordance with the methodological process of systematic literature reviews and revealed the clinical effects of Baduanjin on shoulder pain.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.1169-1178
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic Gastritis. Methods: The study collected data of clinical studies of combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. Electronic databases were used, including PubMed, Cochrane, CNKI, Wanfang, CINII, J-stage, NDSL, and OASIS. The main search terms included such as "Atrophic Gastritis", "Banhasasim-tang", "BanXia Xiexin Tang". This study only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that adopted combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. Results: A total of 18 RCTs were selected. They all adopted combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. In all the studies, the intervention group significantly improved the score of effective rate, and in the 8 studies, Hp negative conversion rate was significantly improved when Banhasasim-tang was taken. Conclusion: Through the analysis of 18 RCTs, we found Banhasasim-tang combined with conventional therapy were more effective in the positive performance of atrophic gastritis than conventional therapy single contribution. However, due to the low quality of the selected studies and the lack of endoscopy, biopsy, follow-up observation, so there is a slight insufficient to prove its conclusion. Therefore, we hope that more systematic and diverse clinical studies will be conducted.