ABSTRACT
As an inseparable part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture has been used in more than 196 countries or regions and has played an increasingly important role in health care. This article introduces Dr. Lian Zhu, MD, who made great contributions to acupuncture development. Dr. Zhu was a medical doctor, a military physician in her early life, and a high-ranking officer in the health care system of the Chinese government. She became famous as an acupuncturist after learning acupuncture in 1945. She was highly influenced by Zhijun Lu, MD, who learned acupuncture from Zuotian Ren, a TCM doctor in Yan'an, who had cured Chairman Mao Zedong's intractable shoulder pain. Dr. Zhu was one of the 2 earliest acupuncture trainers in the Chinese military health system, helping the Chinese communist military overcome resource shortages during the Chinese Civil War. She was one of China's most-influential acupuncture educators, having taught many acupuncture classes that trained many acupuncturists from 1945 to 1955. She was also an officer and policy maker in the Health Department of the central government, where she established such policy initiatives as training content for TCM doctors' reeducation schools. Dr. Zhu was ones of the earliest acupuncture researchers and administrators with a government-endorsed background. She created the first public acupuncture university in history in 1976 as well as 2 key acupuncture institutes in China and was director of both. She played a crucial role in promoting acupuncture research through TCM and biomedical methods, and was the first scholar in China to publish a thorough book on medical acupuncture using Western-biomedical language, which was highly praised by Chairman Mao. Dr. Zhu's acupuncture theory objectively promoted acceptance of medical acupuncture by the general public, medical doctors, government officials, and international medical societies.
ABSTRACT
Sepsis is a serious medical condition in which immune dysfunction plays a key role. Previous treatments focused on chemotherapy to control immune function; however, a recognized effective compound or treatment has yet to be developed. Recent advances indicate that a neuromodulation approach with nerve stimulation allows developing a therapeutic strategy to control inflammation and improve organ functions in sepsis. As a quick, non-invasive technique of peripheral nerve stimulation, acupuncture has emerged as a promising therapy to provide significant advantages for immunomodulation in acute inflammation. Acupuncture obtains its regulatory effect by activating the somatic-autonomic-immune reflexes, including the somatic-sympathetic-splenic reflex, the somatic-sympathetic-adrenal reflex, the somatic-vagal-splenic reflex and the somatic-vagal-adrenal reflex, which produces a systemic effect. The peripheral nerve stimulation also induces local reflexes such as the somatic-sympathetic-lung-reflex, which then produces local effects. These mechanisms offer scientific guidance to design acupuncture protocols for immunomodulation and inflammation control, leading to an evidence-based comprehensive therapy recommendation.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy , Sepsis , Autonomic Nervous System , Humans , Reflex , Sepsis/therapy , Sympathetic Nervous SystemABSTRACT
Background and Objective: Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are widespread, practiced in >183 countries and regions. As such, it has played an important role in the world health care system. However, there are no official statistics available on the number of acupuncture practitioners in China. The aim of this study is to calculate the number ranges of acupuncture practitioners in China in 2018. Materials and Methods: In total, 33.708 million was used as the total number of patient visits for acupuncture in 2018 in China. This number was calculated using the data released by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (China), in which the average daily workload of all acupuncture practitioners in China was 134,832 patient visits. Acupuncture practitioners in China are part of Chinese Medicine doctors (CMDs) at the physician level, called "acupuncture doctors." This number 134,832 was divided by the workload of a single doctor of acupuncture, which was 19.4 or 7.0 patient visits per day. These numbers were from a survey by the authors. There are also the numbers 16.0 or 9.4 patient visits per day; these numbers were calculated from the salary level of acupuncture practitioners at 10,000 Yuan per month (providing the doctor's net income was 30% or 50% in his/her gross income). From these 2 sources, the authors then obtained 2 sets of ranges of acupuncture practitioners in China in 2018. There were 9,927 CMDs in 49 big hospitals, of which 619 were acupuncture practitioners; the ratio of acupuncture practitioners to the whole of all CMDs was 6.23%. Using this ratio multiplied by the whole number of CMDs in 2018, then the number of acupuncture practitioners in China in 2018 could be obtained as well. Results: Calculating based on the workload, the range of acupuncture practitioners in China in 2018 was from 6,950 to 19,262. Calculating based on the salary level, the range was 10,618 to 17,697. Calculating based on the ratio of the number of acupuncture practitioners to the whole population of CMDs, the number was 28,360. Conclusions: The reasonable range of acupuncture practitioners in China in 2018 was 10,618 to 17,697, with a median of 14,157. Considering that some acupuncture practitioners are also engaged in teaching, research, and management, the mentioned number is enlarged by 30% to produce 18,404, which would be reasonable. It was also concluded that the density of acupuncture practitioners was 1.31 per 100,000 residents.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is currently no drug or therapy that cures COVID-19, a highly contagious and life-threatening disease. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis summarized contemporary studies that report the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) to treat COVID-19. SEARCH STRATEGY: Six electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched from their beginning to May 15, 2020 with the following search terms: traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, COVID-19, new coronavirus pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, and randomized controlled trial. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from peer-reviewed journals and non-reviewed publications were included. Further, included RCTs had a control group that was given standard care (SC; such as conventional Western medicine treatments or routine medical care), and a treatment group that was given SC plus CHM. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Two evaluators screened and collected literature independently; information on participants, study design, interventions, follow-up and adverse events were extracted, and risk of bias was assessed. The primary outcomes included scores that represented changes in symptoms and signs over the course of treatment. Secondary outcomes included the level of inflammatory markers, improvement of pneumonia confirmed by computed tomography (CT), and adverse events. Dichotomous data were expressed as risk ratio or hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI); where time-to-event analysis was used, outcomes were expressed as odds ratio with 95% CI. Continuous data were expressed as difference in means (MD) with 95% CI, and standardized mean difference (SMD) was used when different outcome scales were pooled. RESULTS: Seven original studies, comprising a total of 732 adults, were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to SC alone, CHM plus SC had a superior effect on the change of symptom and sign score (-1.30 by SMD, 95% CI [-2.43, -0.16]; 3 studies; n = 261, P = 0.03), on inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L; -11.82 by MD, 95% CI [-17.95, -5.69]; 5 studies; n = 325, P = 0.0002), on number of patients with improved lung CT scans (1.34 by risk ratio, 95% CI [1.19, 1.51]; 4 studies; n = 489, P < 0.00001). No significant adverse events were recorded in the included RCTs. CONCLUSION: Current evidence shows that CHM, as an adjunct treatment with standard care, helps to improve treatment outcomes in COVID-19 cases.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
Objective: Chinese Medicine (known as acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) in the United States), has spread far and been utilized in more than 183 countries or regions. It has played an important role in the health care systems of many countries. Licensed acupuncturists' contribution to the U.S. market alone is more than 3.5 billion dollars. The aim of the current study was to determine the ranking status of Chinese Medicine schools on the global or international level in 2020. Materials and Methods: Databases of PubMed.gov, wanfangdata.com.cn, cnki.net, and google.com were searched, using the keywords: university or college or school, Chinese Medicine or acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, global ranking or international ranking, 2020 both in English and Chinese. If the ranking did not show up in the results directly, the authors moved on to find global or international higher education (universities or colleges) ranking agencies or institutions. Then the authors used the websites of ranking agencies or institutions to conduct more research, using the keywords: 2020, Chinese Medicine, or acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Results: U.S. News & World Report is the only recognized authority that reported the ranking status of universities of Chinese Medicine in its 2020 edition, in which the best global universities were ranked. A total of 1500 universities in 81 countries and regions were included. Based on the overall academic strength of each university, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as numbers 1376, 1390 and 1440, respectively. In clinical medicine, 750 universities were ranked among the strongest in the world; Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as 688th, 734th, and 738th, respectively. In pharmacology and toxicology, 250 universities were among the strongest in the world; Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as 153rd and 209th, respectively. In oncology, 250 universities were ranked as strongest in the world; Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine was ranked as 243rd in the world. Conclusions: Chinese Medicine schools are more accepted and more highly ranked than they had been in the past.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#There is currently no drug or therapy that cures COVID-19, a highly contagious and life-threatening disease.@*OBJECTIVE@#This systematic review and meta-analysis summarized contemporary studies that report the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) to treat COVID-19.@*SEARCH STRATEGY@#Six electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched from their beginning to May 15, 2020 with the following search terms: traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, COVID-19, new coronavirus pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, and randomized controlled trial.@*INCLUSION CRITERIA@#Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from peer-reviewed journals and non-reviewed publications were included. Further, included RCTs had a control group that was given standard care (SC; such as conventional Western medicine treatments or routine medical care), and a treatment group that was given SC plus CHM.@*DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS@#Two evaluators screened and collected literature independently; information on participants, study design, interventions, follow-up and adverse events were extracted, and risk of bias was assessed. The primary outcomes included scores that represented changes in symptoms and signs over the course of treatment. Secondary outcomes included the level of inflammatory markers, improvement of pneumonia confirmed by computed tomography (CT), and adverse events. Dichotomous data were expressed as risk ratio or hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI); where time-to-event analysis was used, outcomes were expressed as odds ratio with 95% CI. Continuous data were expressed as difference in means (MD) with 95% CI, and standardized mean difference (SMD) was used when different outcome scales were pooled.@*RESULTS@#Seven original studies, comprising a total of 732 adults, were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to SC alone, CHM plus SC had a superior effect on the change of symptom and sign score (-1.30 by SMD, 95% CI [-2.43, -0.16]; 3 studies; n = 261, P = 0.03), on inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L; -11.82 by MD, 95% CI [-17.95, -5.69]; 5 studies; n = 325, P = 0.0002), on number of patients with improved lung CT scans (1.34 by risk ratio, 95% CI [1.19, 1.51]; 4 studies; n = 489, P < 0.00001). No significant adverse events were recorded in the included RCTs.@*CONCLUSION@#Current evidence shows that CHM, as an adjunct treatment with standard care, helps to improve treatment outcomes in COVID-19 cases.
Subject(s)
Humans , Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections , Drug Therapy , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Therapeutic UsesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#There is currently no drug or therapy that cures COVID-19, a highly contagious and life-threatening disease.@*OBJECTIVE@#This systematic review and meta-analysis summarized contemporary studies that report the use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) to treat COVID-19.@*SEARCH STRATEGY@#Six electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Wanfang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched from their beginning to May 15, 2020 with the following search terms: traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, COVID-19, new coronavirus pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, and randomized controlled trial.@*INCLUSION CRITERIA@#Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from peer-reviewed journals and non-reviewed publications were included. Further, included RCTs had a control group that was given standard care (SC; such as conventional Western medicine treatments or routine medical care), and a treatment group that was given SC plus CHM.@*DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS@#Two evaluators screened and collected literature independently; information on participants, study design, interventions, follow-up and adverse events were extracted, and risk of bias was assessed. The primary outcomes included scores that represented changes in symptoms and signs over the course of treatment. Secondary outcomes included the level of inflammatory markers, improvement of pneumonia confirmed by computed tomography (CT), and adverse events. Dichotomous data were expressed as risk ratio or hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI); where time-to-event analysis was used, outcomes were expressed as odds ratio with 95% CI. Continuous data were expressed as difference in means (MD) with 95% CI, and standardized mean difference (SMD) was used when different outcome scales were pooled.@*RESULTS@#Seven original studies, comprising a total of 732 adults, were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to SC alone, CHM plus SC had a superior effect on the change of symptom and sign score (-1.30 by SMD, 95% CI [-2.43, -0.16]; 3 studies; n = 261, P = 0.03), on inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L; -11.82 by MD, 95% CI [-17.95, -5.69]; 5 studies; n = 325, P = 0.0002), on number of patients with improved lung CT scans (1.34 by risk ratio, 95% CI [1.19, 1.51]; 4 studies; n = 489, P < 0.00001). No significant adverse events were recorded in the included RCTs.@*CONCLUSION@#Current evidence shows that CHM, as an adjunct treatment with standard care, helps to improve treatment outcomes in COVID-19 cases.
Subject(s)
Humans , Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections , Drug Therapy , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Therapeutic UsesABSTRACT
Few studies have focused on the cost of acupuncture treatments although acupuncture has become popular in the United States (U.S.). The purpose of the current study was to examine the out-of-pocket costs incurred from acupuncture services based on an online website, OkCopay.com. We examined descriptive statistics (range, median and 20% intervals) for the cost of acupuncture "first-time visits" and "follow-up visits" in 41 metropolitan regions in the U.S. The acupuncture prices of 723 clinics throughout 39 metropolitan regions were included, except for Birmingham, Alabama and Detroit, Michigan as there was no online data available at the time of the study for these two regions. The cost range for a first-time acupuncture visit was $15-400; the highest median was $150 in Charleston, South Carolina, while the lowest was $45 in St. Louis, Missouri. The top 10 cities for the highest median were: Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland and Indianapolis, with the median $120, while the median for all 723 clinics was $112. For the follow-up visits, the cost range was $15-300; the highest median was $108 in Charleston, South Carolina, and the lowest $40 in Miami, Florida. The 10 cities with highest median follow-up acupuncture visit costs were: New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Boston and Atlanta, with the median $85, while for all 723 clinics the median price was $80. The estimation of the average gross annual income of each acupuncturist from the regions studied was $95,760, while the total annual cost of patients seeking acupuncture services in the U.S. was about $3.5 billion in 2018.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy/economics , Costs and Cost Analysis/methods , Health Expenditures , Cities , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
Chronic low-back pain (CLBP) is one of the most common pain conditions. Current clinical guidelines for low-back pain recommend acupuncture for CLBP. However, there are very few high-quality acupuncture studies on CLBP in older adults. Clinical acupuncture experts in the American Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (ATCMA) were interested in the recent grant on CLBP research announced by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The ATCMA experts held an online discussion on the subject of real-world acupuncture treatments for CLBP in older adults. Seven participants, each with more than 20 years of acupuncture practice, discussed their own unique clinical experience while another participant talked about the potential mechanism of acupuncture in pain management. As a result of the discussion, a picture of a similar treatment strategy emerged across the participants for CLBP in older adults. This discussion shows that acupuncture may have complicated mechanisms in pain management, yet it is effective for the treatment of chronic pain involving maladaptive neuroplasticity; therefore, it should be effective for CLBP in older adults.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Therapy , Chronic Pain/therapy , Low Back Pain/therapy , Acupuncture Points , Acupuncture Therapy/economics , Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Male , Needles , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Pragmatic Clinical Trials as TopicABSTRACT
Few studies have focused on the cost of acupuncture treatments although acupuncture has become popular in the United States (U.S.). The purpose of the current study was to examine the out-of-pocket costs incurred from acupuncture services based on an online website, OkCopay.com. We examined descriptive statistics (range, median and 20% intervals) for the cost of acupuncture "first-time visits" and "follow-up visits" in 41 metropolitan regions in the U.S. The acupuncture prices of 723 clinics throughout 39 metropolitan regions were included, except for Birmingham, Alabama and Detroit, Michigan as there was no online data available at the time of the study for these two regions. The cost range for a first-time acupuncture visit was $15-400; the highest median was $150 in Charleston, South Carolina, while the lowest was $45 in St. Louis, Missouri. The top 10 cities for the highest median were: Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland and Indianapolis, with the median $120, while the median for all 723 clinics was $112. For the follow-up visits, the cost range was $15-300; the highest median was $108 in Charleston, South Carolina, and the lowest $40 in Miami, Florida. The 10 cities with highest median follow-up acupuncture visit costs were: New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Boston and Atlanta, with the median $85, while for all 723 clinics the median price was $80. The estimation of the average gross annual income of each acupuncturist from the regions studied was $95,760, while the total annual cost of patients seeking acupuncture services in the U.S. was about $3.5 billion in 2018.
ABSTRACT
Chronic low-back pain (CLBP) is one of the most common pain conditions. Current clinical guidelines for low-back pain recommend acupuncture for CLBP. However, there are very few high-quality acupuncture studies on CLBP in older adults. Clinical acupuncture experts in the American Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (ATCMA) were interested in the recent grant on CLBP research announced by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The ATCMA experts held an online discussion on the subject of real-world acupuncture treatments for CLBP in older adults. Seven participants, each with more than 20 years of acupuncture practice, discussed their own unique clinical experience while another participant talked about the potential mechanism of acupuncture in pain management. As a result of the discussion, a picture of a similar treatment strategy emerged across the participants for CLBP in older adults. This discussion shows that acupuncture may have complicated mechanisms in pain management, yet it is effective for the treatment of chronic pain involving maladaptive neuroplasticity; therefore, it should be effective for CLBP in older adults.
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In recent decades, acupuncture has been used more widely and extensively in the United States (U.S.). However, there have been no national surveys or analyses reported in academic journals on the number of practicing or licensed acupuncturists. This study was conducted to identify the approximate number of licensed acupuncturists active in 2015. The Board of Acupuncture or Board of Medicine in each state or U.S. territory was contacted to collect data. Online license information searching was also performed in order to get accurate numbers of licensed acupuncturists for those states in which a board was unable to be contacted. The study found that the number of licensed acupuncturists in 2015 in the U.S. was 34,481. Of this, more than 50% were licensed in three states alone: California (32.39%), New York (11.89%) and Florida (7.06%). The number of licensed acupuncturists increased 23.30% and 52.09%, compared to the year 2009 (n = 27,965) and 2004 (n = 22,671), respectively; increasing about 1,266 per year. There were 62 and 10 accredited acupuncture institutions providing master and doctoral degrees, respectively. The West Coast comprised 51.39% of degree granting programs, while the East Coast comprised 29.17%; together the coastal states housed more than 80% of all programs, with the remainder sprinkled across the southern (9.72%), northern (8.33%), and the middle/central states (1.39%). Forty-four states and the District of Columbia regulated acupuncture practice by law at the time of data collection. Acupuncture continues to be a quickly growing profession in the U.S.
ABSTRACT
The United States (U.S.) is facing a national opioid epidemic, and medical systems are in need of non-pharmacologic strategies that can be employed to decrease the public's opioid dependence. Acupuncture has emerged as a powerful, evidence-based, safe, cost-effective, and available treatment modality suitable to meeting this need. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for the management of numerous types of pain conditions, and mechanisms of action for acupuncture have been described and are understandable from biomedical, physiologic perspectives. Further, acupuncture's cost-effectiveness can dramatically decrease health care expenditures, both from the standpoint of treating acute pain and through avoiding addiction to opioids that requires costly care, destroys quality of life, and can lead to fatal overdose. Numerous federal regulatory agencies have advised or mandated that healthcare systems and providers offer non-pharmacologic treatment options for pain. Acupuncture stands out as the most evidence-based, immediately available choice to fulfil these calls. Acupuncture can safely, easily, and cost-effectively be incorporated into hospital settings as diverse as the emergency department, labor and delivery suites, and neonatal intensive care units to treat a variety of commonly seen pain conditions. Acupuncture is already being successfully and meaningfully utilized by the Veterans Administration and various branches of the U.S. Military, in some studies demonstrably decreasing the volume of opioids prescribed when included in care.