Case reports on adverse effects of acupuncture and moxibustion: A review of papers published between 2007 and 2011

Case reports on adverse effects of acupuncture and moxibustion: A review of papers published between 2007 and 2011

[Objective] To analyze and understand cases of adverse effects of acupuncture and moxibustion published in medical journals between 2007 and 2011. [Methodology] We searched relevant articles with the Web of Japan Medical Abstracts Society and PubMed. We used keywords for acupuncture, moxibustion and related adverse events. [Results] We located 39 papers reporting 39 cases that occurred in Japan: infection (7 cases), organ injury (11), foreign body or needle breakage (8), neurological damage (6), cutaneous disease (1), adverse effects of moxibustion (4), and others (2). As for cases published in foreign countries, we located 60 relevant papers: infection (19 cases including 2 outbreaks), organ injury (13), foreign body or needle breakage (5), neurological damage (9), cutaneous disease (5), adverse effects of moxibustion (2), and others (7). [Conclusion] Although causal relationship has not been established in some cases, occurrences of infection, organ injury, and needle breakage/foreign body are still as high as they were before. This suggests that continual feedback to acupuncturists of information on safety is necessary.

【目的】分析并了解2007年至2011年间在医学期刊上发表的针灸不良反应案例。【方法】我们使用日本医学文摘协会网络（Web of Japan Medical Abstracts Society）和PubMed检索相关文章。我们使用了针灸、艾灸以及相关不良事件的关键词。【结果】我们找到39篇论文，报道了在日本发生的39例病例：感染（7例）、器官损伤（11例）、异物或断针（8例）、神经损伤（6例）、皮肤病（1例）、艾灸不良反应（4例）以及其他（2例）。对于国外发表的病例，我们找到60篇相关论文：感染（19例，包括2起暴发）、器官损伤（13例）、异物或断针（5例）、神经损伤（9例）、皮肤病（5例）、艾灸不良反应（2例）以及其他（7例）。【结论】尽管在某些病例中因果关系尚未确定，但感染、器官损伤以及断针/异物的发生频率仍然和以前一样高。这表明有必要持续向针灸师反馈安全信息。