Effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -a review

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive condition which is characterized by irreversible airflow limitation, and leads to decreased physical activities, which in turn worsen dyspnea. The progress of major symptoms like shortness of breath, lower pulmonary function, and poor quality of life make it difficult to treat.

The purpose of this paper is to review the efficacy of Acupuncture towards COPD based on clinical studies. It may be provide as an adjuvant treatment to conventional treatment.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted in two electronic databases: PubMed and Cnki (a Chinese scientific periodical database). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involved in the acupuncture treatment of COPD from 2003 to 2012 were included in this review. This review is limited to articles in Chinese and English language.

Results: 8 papers met our inclusion criteria. Among these, 3 studies compared the treatment efficacy of acupuncture and placebo or sham acupuncture; 3 studies used integrated acupuncture and conventional medicine as the intervention, and the control group was conventional medicine; 2 studies compared the treatment efficacy of acupuncture with Moxibustion or Chinese herbal formula to conventional medicine. Overall, 5 studies indicated benefits of acupuncture treatment (P<0.01- P<0.05) and 3 studies indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between acupuncture and conventional medicine.

Conclusion: Based on our review, acupuncture may be beneficial to the patients with COPD. However, the evidence is inconclusive on the clinical efficacy of acupuncture due to the limitations within these studies.

Key Words: Acupuncture, COPD, Review