To evaluate the current evidence for effectiveness of acupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the form of a systematic review, a systematic literature search was conducted in 23 electronic databases. Grey literature was also searched. The key search terms were “acupuncture” and “PTSD.” No language restrictions were imposed. We included all randomized or prospective clinical trials that evaluated acupuncture and its variants against a waitlist, sham acupuncture, conventional therapy control for PTSD, or without control. Four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 2 uncontrolled clinical trials (UCTs) out of 136 articles in total were systematically reviewed. One high-quality RCT reported that acupuncture was superior to waitlist control and therapeutic effects of acupuncture and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) were similar based on the effect sizes. One RCT showed no statistical difference between acupuncture and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). One RCT reported a favorable effect of acupoint stimulation plus CBT against CBT alone. A meta-analysis of acupuncture plus moxibustion versus SSRI favored acupuncture plus moxibustion in three outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that the evidence of effectiveness of acupuncture for PTSD is encouraging but not cogent. Further qualified trials are needed to confirm whether acupuncture is effective for PTSD.

Background Insomnia symptoms are common, affecting almost 30% of the population of the population. Many use medications that may be ineffective and cause substantial harm. In complementary and alternative medicine, acupuncture is widely used to manage mental health problems. Acupuncture therapy emphasizes individualized treatment according to TCM pattern diagnosis. Although there are some systematic reviews that acupuncture has the benefit for insomnia, there is no systematic review on acupuncture using pattern identification. This review aimed for evaluating acupuncture efficacy using pattern-identification to treat insomnia. Methods We carried out a comprehensive review of randomized controlled trials (from 2000 to April 12, 2018), using PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CNKI, and 3 Korean (OASIS, NDSL, RISS4U) databases, comparing acupuncture using pattern identification (only) with medication in primary insomnia. Response rate and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were the primary outcomes. Risk of bias and publication biases were evaluated, and meta-analyses were conducted. Results Nineteen RCTs were included (11 manual acupuncture (1079 patients), 8 electro-acupuncture (442 patients)) of low quality. Meta-analyses of all studies reveled that acupuncture improved total effectiveness rate (Risk Ratio [RR] = 1.23, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 1.12–1.35, p < 0.00001; I 2 = 80%) and PSQI (MD = −1.92, 95% CI: −2.41–1.42, p < 0.00001; I 2 = 30%) compared to medication. Results of overall risk of bias assessments were unclear or high. Conclusions Acupuncture using pattern identification led to significantly improved total effectiveness rate compared to medication. With regard to PSQI, as compared to the control group, acupuncture using pattern identification was similar to medication. However, this study has limitations of high risk of bias, not using a standardized pattern-diagnosis-treatment and not comparing with standarized acupuncture without pattern identification.

Introduction This study aims to investigate the clinical practice states on the diagnosis and treatment for insomnia between Korean medical general practitioners (KMGPs) and Korean medical neuropsychiatry specialists (KMNPSs). Methods We distributed questionnaires via email or in person to 1,017 KMGPs and via email to 165 KMNPSs. We collected and analyzed responses from 305 (30.00%) KMGPs and 53 (32.12%) KMNPSs. Results Most KMGPs and KMNPSs responded that the number of new patients visiting the clinic for treatment of insomnia was less than 10 per month (78.2%). Frequently utilized therapies for insomnia are acupuncture and herbal decoctions. Particularly acupoint GV20 and Guipi decoction were chosen with the highest response rate. There was no difference between KMNPSs and KMGPs in the traditional Korean medical diagnosis methods. However, KMNPSs utilized more various methods to diagnose, treat, and evaluate insomnia and educated more actively sleep hygiene compared to KMGPs. Conclusions This survey showed how insomnia is currently diagnosed and treated in Korean medical care settings. Moreover, we identified some differences between KMNPSs and KMGPs. Further research is required to explore the underlying reasons for these discrepancies among KMDs and to improve the quality of Korean medical clinical practice in treating insomnia.

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives on the options for the integration of western and traditional Korean medical services among three types of medical doctors with different disciplines in Korea. We surveyed and analyzed responses from 167 conventional Western medicine (WM), 135 traditional Korean medicine (KM), and 103 dual-licensed (DL) doctors who can practice both. All three kinds of doctors shared similar attitude toward license unitarization. KM doctors most strongly agreed on the need of the cooperative practice (CP) between KM and WM and on the possibility of license unitarization among three groups. DL doctors believed that CP is currently impracticable and copractice is more efficient than CP. WM doctors presented the lowest agreement on the need of CP and showed lower expectation for DL doctors as mediators between WM and KM than others. This study showed the difference of perspectives on the options for the integrative medical services among three different doctor groups in Korea. More studies are required to explore the underlying reasons for these discrepancies among WM, KM, and DL doctors.

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the research trends of physical activities interventions such as yoga, taichi, and qigong to reduce anxiety. Methods: Korean databases were searched for articles related to survey of physical activity interventions (yoga, taichi, qigong) to reduce anxiety from 2009 to 2015. Results: Fifteen articles published in Korean journals from 2009 to 2015 were retrieved. The quality of studies were generally low and characteristics of subject were not homogeneous. Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used most frequently as an assessment tool. The included publications included 9 articles on yoga, 4 articles on qigong, and 2 articles on taichi. Of these, 8 of 9 articles on yoga, 2 of 4 articles on qigong, and 2 of 2 articles on taichi reported that intervention group showed statistically significant decrease of anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: In this study, physical activity interventions such as yoga, taichi and qigong might be beneficial for reducing anxiety. However, more scientifically designed research on physical activity-based treatments are needed to prove the efficacy and effectiveness.

This study aimed to analyze current trends in healthcare utilization and medication usage in patients with insomnia. We reviewed the National Patient Sample data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to determine healthcare utilization in patients diagnosed with insomnia (International Classification of Diseases-10 codes G470, F510) between January 2010 and December 2016. There were 87,470 patients enrolled in this study who utilized healthcare services at least once during the 7-year period. Healthcare utilization trends, Korean and Western medicine (KM and WM, respectively) therapies utilized, comorbidities, and socioeconomic data were analyzed. The number of patients seeking WM or KM care for insomnia increased annually. Adults aged ≥45 years accounted for 73% of the cohort, and there were more female than male patients. KM treatment including acupuncture was the most common in KM (65.29%), while examination was the most common WM treatments (49.31%). In pharmacological therapy, sedatives and hypnotics were the most common (41.08%), followed by antianxiety (19.50%), digestive system and metabolism-related drugs (7.77%). The most common comorbidities were mental health disorders (50.56%) in WM but musculoskeletal disorders in KM (35.67%). Code G470 was used more frequently than code F510, and the difference was more evident in KM than in WM. The findings will provide valuable information for both clinicians and researchers.

BackgroundComplementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread but has various utilization rates according to country and the condition of patients. Generally, CAM is more frequently used in diseases that have no clear treatment method in conventional medicine. Therefore, a high utilization rate of CAM can be assumed in pediatric neurological diseases, but few studies have investigated the utilization of CAM in children with neuropsychiatric diseases. In particular, studies regarding the current use of CAM are scarce.MethodsWe conducted a survey of the parents or caregivers of patients who visited the pediatric rehabilitation clinic, pediatric neurology clinic, or pediatric psychiatry clinic at one university hospital from April to July 2011. We analyzed the factors that affect the utilization of CAM and other rehabilitation therapies.ResultsAmong the 578 patients recruited, 258 patients have ever received CAM (51.5 %), and the current CAM utilization rate was 19.0 % (110 patients). Two hundred patients (34.6 %) were currently receiving only other rehabilitation therapies, and 268 patients (46.4 %) were currently receiving no type of therapy. The rate of current CAM usage was significantly high in epilepsy patients.The ORs of 1–6-year-old and 7–12-year-old children compared with 13–19-year-old children were 3.14 (95 % CI 1.31–7.53) and 3.34 (95 % CI 1.64–6.79), respectively, and the OR of the group with longer disease duration (≥48 months) compared with the group with shorter disease duration was 3.36 (95 % CI 1.71–6.59). Only the age and disease duration showed statistically significant differences between the patients who were administered CAM and those who received other rehabilitation therapies (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsCAM is preferred by patients under 13 years of age compared with patients aged 13–19 years, whereas other rehabilitation therapies are preferred by patients aged 1–6 years, followed by those aged 6–12 years and then by those aged 13–19 years. The patient’s age and disease duration are the major factors influencing CAM use. Future studies should specify particular diseases, rather than combining all types of neuropsychiatric diseases, and include the socio-economic status of the parents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1066-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The purpose of this study is to investigate prevalence and the frequency of using Korean medicine, Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM), and other parallel treatments in children and young adolescence with neurological diseases. MethodsFrom April to July 2011, parents of the children and adolescents patients suffering from neurological disease completed questionnaires. Results578 parents answered the questionnaires. 310 cases (53.5%) were using Parallel Treatments. Types of the Parallel Treatments being used are as follows. Rehabilitation 166 cases (27.4%), Speech Therapy 169 cases (27.9%), Education (Art, Music, Play) 109 cases (18.0%), Health supplement 72 cases (11.9%), Counselling, Cognitive & Behavioral Therapy 45 cases (7.4%), Herbal Medicine 24 cases (4.0%), Acupuncture, Moxibustion 13 cases (2.1%), Neurofeedback Therapy 1 case (0.2%), Etc 7 cases (1.2%). 257 cases (44.5%) have used Parallel Treatment before. Parallel Treatments being used in the past are as follows. Herbal Medicine 146 cases (35.4%), Acupuncture, Moxibustion 64 cases (15.5%), Education (Art, Music, Play) 54 cases (13.1%), Rehabilitation 47 cases (11.4%), Speech Therapy 46 cases (11.1%), Health supplement 30 cases (7.3%), Counselling․ Cognitive & Behavioral Therapy 15 cases (3.6%), Neurofeedback Therapy 4 case (1.0%), Chuna, Manual Massage 2 case (0.5%), Etc 5 cases (1.2%). ConclusionsAlthough patients were on both western medicine and Korean medicine, CAM, and other parallel treatment, the ratio of Korean medicine treatment was not as high as expected. Further studies are required to develop the model of integrative medicine.