Efficacy of Auricular Therapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Joint Authors
Chien, Lung Chang
Chiang, Yi-Chien
Hoffman, Samuel
Liang, Zhan
Klem, Mary Lou
Yeh, Chao Hsing
Suen, Lorna K. P.
Tam, Wilson W. S.
Source
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Issue
Vol. 2014, Issue 2014 (31 Dec. 2014), pp.1-14, 14 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2014-07-23
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
14
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Objective.
The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of auricular therapy by including a sham therapy control group.
Methods.
Relevant, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were identified by searching medical related databases from, depending on journal, 1900 (at the earliest) to 1994 (at the latest) through May 2013.
The outcome measure was a pain intensity score.
Results.
Twenty-two RCTs were identified and 13 RCTs were included for meta-analysis.
In these studies, auricular therapy provided significant pain relief when compared to a sham or control group.
The overall standardized mean differences (SMD) was 1.59 (95% CI [−2.36, −0.82]) (13 trials, total subject numbers = 806), indicating that, on average, the mean decrease in pain score for auricular therapy group was 1.59 standard deviations greater than the mean decrease for the sham control.
In terms of the efficacy of the different treatment methods, auricular acupressure boasts the largest strength of evidence for pain relief, followed by auricular acupuncture.
Electroacupuncture stimulation did not show significant evidence for efficacy, which may be due to the small sample size (i.e., only 19 subjects were included).
Conclusion.
Further large-scale RCTs are needed to determine the efficacy of auricular therapy for pain.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Yeh, Chao Hsing& Chiang, Yi-Chien& Hoffman, Samuel& Liang, Zhan& Klem, Mary Lou& Tam, Wilson W. S.…[et al.]. 2014. Efficacy of Auricular Therapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine،Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1035465
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Yeh, Chao Hsing…[et al.]. Efficacy of Auricular Therapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine No. 2014 (2014), pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1035465
American Medical Association (AMA)
Yeh, Chao Hsing& Chiang, Yi-Chien& Hoffman, Samuel& Liang, Zhan& Klem, Mary Lou& Tam, Wilson W. S.…[et al.]. Efficacy of Auricular Therapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014. Vol. 2014, no. 2014, pp.1-14.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1035465
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1035465