Life-threatening adverse reactions after acupuncture? A systematic review
PainPublished 1 June 1997
E Ernst, Adrian White
Citations209
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.02
SNIP1.87
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TL;DR
This review summarises the published evidence on serious, potentially life-threatening complications allegedly caused by acupuncture.
Abstract
Department of Complementary Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter EX2 4NT, UK *Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1392 430802; fax: +44 1392 424989; e-mail: [email protected] Received November 28, 1996; revised version received February 5, 1997; accepted February 5, 1997.
Keywords
MedicineHealth Professions
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9 Citations1997Adrian R White, Karl Ludwig Resch +1 more
A best evidence synthesis, a synthesis of the data on effectiveness of acupuncture for smoking cessation, and a meta-analysis of the available data are presented.
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8 Citations1991Nelson Morrone, José Antonio dos Santos Freire +2 more
A 68 year-old white male patient with previous diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema was submitted to acupuncture and the needles were inserted into the precordial area and the patient immediately complained of worsening dyspnea.
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5 Citations1976G. Schlenker, A. Huegel
During acupuncture in the chest region a right-sided pneumothorax developed in a 53-year-old woman which necessitated emergency admission to hospital and a reinflation of the lung could be achieved with two Bülau drains.
