eCAM Advance Access originally published online on January 10, 2008
eCAM 2009 6(4):429-439; doi:10.1093/ecam/nem181
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Pediatric Acupuncture: A Review of Clinical Research
1Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2Department of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, 3Department of Hematology/Oncology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and 4Eastern Center for Complementary Medicine, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Practiced in China for more than 2000 years, acupuncture has recently gained increased attention in the United States as an alternative treatment approach for a variety of medical conditions. Despite its growing prevalence and anecdotal reports of success among pediatric populations, few empirically based studies have assessed the efficacy of acupuncture for children and adolescents. This article presents a review of the current literature, including a systematic appraisal of the methodological value of each study and a discussion of potential benefits and adverse effects of acupuncture. While acupuncture holds great promise as a treatment modality for diverse pediatric conditions, a significant amount of additional research is necessary to establish an empirical basis for the incorporation of acupuncture into standard care.
Keywords: acupuncture – pediatrics
For reprints and all correspondence: Jeffrey I. Gold, Ph.D., Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 4650 Sunset Blvd. MS #12, Los Angeles, CA 90027-6062, USA. Tel: +1-323-361-6341; Fax: +1-323-361-1022; E-mail: jgold{at}chla.usc.edu
Received March 5, 2007; accepted November 28, 2007