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Assessing Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture: What Has Been Learned from Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture?

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Clinical Acupuncture

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the evidence of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture. Treatment efficacy pertains to the differential effect observed from a treatment as compared to a placebo or another treatment using a rigorous methodological design. Efficacy is often assessed using a double blind controlled trial design [1]. While some chapters in this book focus primarily on animal studies, the question of clinical efficacy can only be addressed in human studies. Therefore, this chapter will focus on summarizing the evidence from human acupuncture trials. It is divided into two major sections. The first presents an overview of evidence-based medicine and explains why the systematic review is the most reliable and valid method for assessing efficacy. The second section summarizes the current evidence from systematic reviews on acupuncture for specific conditions and, when applicable, presents results of trials published subsequently to each systematic review.

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Authors
  1. J. Ezzo
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  2. L. Lao
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  3. B. M. Berman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Akupunktur Centrum, Goltsteinstrasse 26, 40211, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Gabriel Stux M.D.

  2. Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, 10525 S. E. Cherry Blossom Drive, Portland, Oregon, 97216, USA

    Richard Hammerschlag Ph. D.

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Ezzo, J., Lao, L., Berman, B.M. (2001). Assessing Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture: What Has Been Learned from Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture?. In: Stux, G., Hammerschlag, R. (eds) Clinical Acupuncture. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56732-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56732-2_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-64054-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56732-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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