Acupuncture for Stroke
Little was known about the effects
of acupuncture on stroke recurrence. The aim of this study is to investigate
whether ischemic stroke patients receiving acupuncture treatment have a decreased
risk of stroke recurrence.A retrospective cohort study of 30,058 newly
diagnosed cases of ischemic stroke in 2000 to 2004 was conducted based on the
claims of Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The use of acupuncture
treatment and stroke recurrence were identified during the follow-up period
from 2000 to 2009. This study compared the risk of stroke recurrence between
ischemic stroke cohorts with and without acupuncture treatment by calculating
adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of acupuncture
associated with stroke recurrence in the Cox proportional hazard model.The
stroke recurrence rate per 1000 person-years decreased from 71.4 without to
69.9 with acupuncture treatment (P < 0.001). Acupuncture treatment was
associated with reduced risk of stroke recurrence (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.84-0.91).
The acupuncture effect was noted in patients with or without medical treatment
for stroke prevention but its impact decreased with aging of stroke patients.
Compared with stroke patients without acupuncture treatment and medication therapy,
the hazard ratios of stroke recurrence for those had medication therapy only, acupuncture
only, and both were 0.42 (95% CI 0.38-0.46), 0.50 (95% CI 0.43-0.57), and 0.39
(95% CI 0.35-0.43), respectively.This study raises the possibility that acupuncture
might be effective in lowering stroke recurrence rate even in those on
medications for stroke prevention. Results suggest the need of prospective
sham-controlled and randomized trials to establish the efficacy of acupuncture
in preventing stroke.
Source: Shih CC,
Liao CC,
Sun MF,
Su YC,
Wen CP,
Morisky DE,
Sung FC,
Hsu CY,
Lin JG.
A Retrospective
Cohort Study Comparing Stroke Recurrence Rate in Ischemic Stroke Patients With
and Without Acupuncture Treatment. Medicine
(Baltimore). 2015 Sep;94(39):e1572
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