Acupuncture reduces Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR)

Impact of acupuncture on antihistamine use in patients suffering seasonal allergic rhinitis: secondary analysis of results from a randomised controlled trial

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany

Daniela Adam, Linus Grabenhenrich, Miriam Ortiz, Sylvia Binting, Thomas Reinhold, Benno Brinkhaus

AbstrAct Background Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) is a common disease that has detrimental effects on the quality of life (QoL) of affected individuals. Approximately 18% of patients try to alleviate their symptoms through acupuncture. The ACUSAR (ACUpuncture in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis) study ( ClinicalTrials. gov registration no. NCT00610584) assessed the impact of acupuncture on SAR, showing significant improvements in rhinitis-specific QoL (RQoL) and in rescue medication (RM) use. Objective A secondary analysis of SAR patients’ use of antihistamine. Methods Patients were randomised into three study groups: acupuncture plus RM, sham acupuncture plus RM, and RM alone. The patients documented their medication use before and during the intervention period (8 weeks). The main outcome was the number of days with antihistamine use. Statistical analyses were conducted using parametric and non-parametric tests. The robustness of the results was tested by sensitivity analyses using non-parametric bootstrapping. Results The data from 414 patients were analysed. The acupuncture group used antihistamines significantly less often compared with the other groups (acupuncture vs sham acupuncture: mean difference −4.49 days, p=0.01; acupuncture vs RM: mean difference −9.15 days, p<0.001). Approximately 38% of the acupuncture group did not use any antihistamine in contrast to only 16% in the RM group. The pre-post comparison suggested that the acupuncture patients did not need to increase the days of antihistamine use to alleviate their symptoms, unlike the other groups. Conclusions Acupuncture appeared to significantly reduce the number of days of antihistamine use while improving RQoL and SAR symptoms; it can therefore be considered a valuable, additional treatment option for patients with SAR.

Electro-acupuncture Therapy

Electro-acupuncture means the stimulation of points, meridians, channels, collaterals, and ah-shi points with or without needles with: the administration and/or prescription of percutaneous and transcutaneous electrical nerve and tissue stimulation; and/or the use of microcurrent; low volt; high volt; interferential current; galvanic current; and acupunctoscope.

HERBAL THERAPY

Herbal therapy means the use, prescription, recommendation, and administration of herbal therapy/phyto-therapy which consists of plant, or mineral substances and shall include all homeopathic preparations to promote, maintain and restore health and to prevent disease.