This paper reviews a number of clinical trials and outcome studies on the use of acupuncture to treat asthma. None of the trials had a large sample size and they suffer from the problems common to all acupuncture trials, such as what constitutes appropriate treatment and a suitable “controlâ€. The outcome studies avoid some of these problems but many lack rigour or adequate description of measurements used. This paper reviews the trials that appeared most sound in methodological terms, together with those outcome studies that had relatively large samples. The trials are divided into two groups: those treating patients as part of normal clinical management and those treating patients suffering an induced asthma attack. The
findings for the first group are inconsistent, particularly as regards objective measures of lung function. There is, however, evidence that acupuncture can improve patients’ subjective experience of their symptoms, reduce their use of medication and improve immunological parameters. The smaller number of trials of induced asthma is more consistently positive.
The majority of trials provide an inadequate rationale for the acupuncture points used and few bear any relationship to the way acupuncture is actually practised by British Acupuncture Council members. The outcome studies generally provide a much better picture of the diagnostic criteria used and show more consistently positive results than the trials, but their methodology is often weak. The paper concludes by discussing some of the issues that need to be addressed in developing clinically relevant and methodologically sound research.
