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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

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Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for dizziness and vertigo in emergency department: a pilot cohort study

Authors: Chih-Wen Chiu, Tsung-Chieh Lee, Po-Chi Hsu, Chia-Yun Chen, Shun-Chang Chang, John. Y. Chiang, Lun-Chien Lo

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2015

Abstract

Background

Dizziness and vertigo account for roughly 4% of chief symptoms in the emergency department (ED). Pharmacological therapy is often applied for these symptoms, such as vestibular suppressants, anti-emetics and benzodiazepines. However, every medication is accompanied with unavoidable side-effects. There are several research articles providing evidence of acupuncture treating dizziness and vertigo but few studies of acupuncture as an emergent intervention in ED. We performed a pilot cohort study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating patients with dizziness and vertigo in ED.

Methods

A total of 60 participants, recruited in ED, were divided into acupuncture and control group. Life-threatening conditions or central nervous system disorders were excluded to ensure participants’ safety. The clinical effect of treating dizziness and vertigo was evaluated by performing statistical analyses on data collected from questionnaires of Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of dizziness and vertigo, and heart rate variability (HRV).

Results

The variation of VAS demonstrated a significant decrease (p-value: 0.001 and p-value: 0.037) between two groups after two different durations: 30 mins and 7 days. The variation of DHI showed no significant difference after 7 days. HRV revealed a significant increase in high frequency (HF) in the acupuncture group. No adverse event was reported in this study.

Conclusion

Acupuncture demonstrates a significant immediate effect in reducing discomforts and VAS of both dizziness and vertigo. This study provides clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture to treat dizziness and vertigo in the emergency department.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02358239. Registered 5 February 2015

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Title: Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for dizziness and vertigo in emergency department: a pilot cohort study
Authors: Chih-Wen Chiu
Tsung-Chieh Lee
Po-Chi Hsu
Chia-Yun Chen
Shun-Chang Chang
John. Y. Chiang
Lun-Chien Lo
Publication date: 01-12-2015
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-015-0704-6

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for dizziness and vertigo in emergency department: a pilot cohort study

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration

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