Alternative therapies in health and medicine
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Altern Ther Health Med · Sep 2014
Meta AnalysisEvaluating the efficacy of Tui Na in treatment of childhood anorexia: a meta-analysis.
Medical practitioners are now seeing more children younger than 15 y who are developing childhood anorexia. Hua Tuo chiropractic treatments are an ancient and practical massage therapy and are a type of Tui Na therapy, which has been used for curing childhood anorexia for thousands of years in China. Research literature suggests that chiropractic care produces outcomes at least comparable with alternative treatments. ⋯ The level of evidence reported was mixed, but given the available evidence, the research team concluded that Tui Na therapy was a viable intervention that could benefit infants and young children with anorexia. No serious adverse events were reported. Larger randomized, controlled trials are required to explore the effects of Tui Na therapy for treatment of childhood anorexia further.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Jul 2014
Review Meta AnalysisEffects of moxibustion or acupoint therapy for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a meta-analysis.
CONTEX: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological syndrome that is characterized by cramping in the lower abdomen during menstruation, particularly during puberty. Treatment for PD includes a variety of pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and surgical options. Although studies supporting use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have helped in the proliferation of its comprehensive therapy, their results do not determine with certainty whether moxibustion and acupoint therapy are better for the treatment of PD than nonacupuncture-related therapy. ⋯ Moxibustion and acupoint therapy can relieve pain effectively for individuals with PD, and these treatments have advantages in overall efficiency. Because of limitations on the quantity and quality of the included studies and the lack of a large, multicenter study, the research team's conclusion has yet to be substantiated.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Mar 2014
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyEfficacy of Lianhuaqingwen capsule compared with oseltamivir for influenza A virus infection: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials.
In this meta-analysis, the authors review the results of studies on the efficacy of lianhuaqingwen capsule (LHQW-C) compared with oseltamivir in treating influenza A virus infection. The authors searched PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Data, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from the date of inception until December 31, 2012. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) were also searched. ⋯ Compared with individuals treated with oseltamivir, this metaanalysis showed that participants treated with LHQW-C had a shorter duration of (1) fever, weighted mean difference (WMD) = -4.65 (95% CI, -8.91 to -0.38; P = .030); (2) cough, WMD = -9.79 (95% CI, -14.61 to -4.97; P < .0001); (3) sore throat, WMD = -13.01 (95% CI, -21.76 to -4.27; P = .004); and (4) body ache, WMD = -16.68 (95% CI, -32.33 to -1.03; P = .040). The review also found that the efficacy of the 2 treatments on viral shedding was similar with WMD = -0.24 (95% CI, -4.79 to 4.31; P = .920). The authors conclude that LHQW-C was superior to oseltamivir in improving the symptoms of influenza A virus infection.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Nov 2010
Meta AnalysisWet cupping therapy for treatment of herpes zoster: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Wet cupping is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy commonly used in treating herpes zoster in China, and clinical studies have shown that wet cupping may have beneficial effect on herpes zoster compared with Western medication. ⋯ Wet cupping appears to be effective in the treatment of herpes zoster. However, further large, rigorously designed