[escepticos] Revision reciente sobre acupuntura en el BMJ

[Josep Maria Soler]

Estas son las conclusiones de un largo articulo de revision sobre acupuntura
en el British Medical Journal:

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/jan27_2/a3115   (el articulo
completo).

Conclusion
We found a small analgesic effect of acupuncture that seems to lack clinical
relevance and cannot be clearly distinguished from bias. Whether needling at
acupuncture points, or at any site, reduces pain independently of the
psychological impact of the treatment ritual is unclear.




            What is already known on this topic

              Acupuncture is commonly used for the treatment of pain

              Acupuncture involves close patient-provider interaction with
suggestive components

              Blinding patients and especially treatment providers in
acupuncture trials is a challenge

            What this study adds


              The analgesic effect of acupuncture is small and cannot be
distinguished from bias resulting from incomplete blinding

              The analgesic effect of placebo acupuncture is moderate but
very variable as some large trials report substantial effects

              The effect of acupuncture seems to be unrelated to the type of
placebo acupuncture used as control

JMª Soler






Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a3115