Systematic Review And Clinical Trial On Acupuncture For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Objective:To conduct a systematic review with any evidence collected from randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for adult and children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Method:We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on The Cochrane Library (Issue 4,2009), MEDLINE (1966-2009), EMBASE (1998-2009), Chinese Biomedical Database (1979-2009), CNKI, VIP. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The quality of trials was evaluated and meta-analysis was performed. Results:All 7 comparisons concerning fatigue showed that acupuncture was of benefit over different control groups. No follow-up was designed in these trials so the middle term and long term effects are not able to be assessed. Among series of symptoms besides fatigue, headache (RR=1.37 with a 95% CI of 1.07 to 1.75) and musculoskeletal pain (RR=1.74 with a 95% CI of 1.28 to 2.36) were found to be positive compared to Chinese patent medicine. Again, no instrument which may provide any continuous data was used here. Acupuncture was demonstrated to be more effective than Chinese patent medicine on some psychological factors including phobic anxiety (SMD=-0.51 with a 95% CI of-0.94 to-0.08) and psychoticism (SMD=-0.92 with a 95% CI of-1.37 to-0.48). This result was limited in the analysis of continuous data from a single trial.Conclusions:No firm evidence is obtained to support or refute the use of acupuncture for CFS. There is a need for further well designed clinical trials.Objective:To observe the effect of acupuncture at back Shu point for chronic fatigue syndrome and to provide the data of clinical study for further research. Methods 60:CFS patients were randomized into two groups. Acupuncture at back Shu point was used in treatment group, while placebo needle (non acu-point) was used in control group. SF-20 and Chalder fatigue scale were used to measure the degree of general health before and after a one-month treatment course. A follow-up was carried out 3 months after the last treatment. Results The mark of SF-20 in treatment group significantly increased as compared to the control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The mark of Chalder fatigue scale in both groups significantly increased. Treatment group had a higher satisfaction rate (65.5%) than control group (36.7%).3 months later, the effect remained, which total effective rate of treatment group was 34.4% and superior to 12.8% of control group. Conclusions Acupuncture at back Shu point has significant effect for chronic fatigue syndrome to ease fatigue statue and improve patient's life quality.