Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) occurs in 68.1% of patients within the first month of undergoing chemotherapy; however, standardized treatment for CIPN has not been established yet. The efficacy of acupuncture, a widely used treatment for CIPN in South Korea, has not been studied sufficiently. This study aimed to review the studies that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture or electroacupuncture (EA) in treating CIPN. Methods: A literature search was performed on relevant international databases — MEDLINE, Embase, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Databases, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure — as well as Korean databases — the National Digital Science Library, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, DBpia, and Korean Studies Information Service System. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that aimed to treat CIPN symptoms with acupuncture or EA and set not only a control group with a conventional pharmacological treatment or injection, but also a placebo control or sham-acupuncture group, were included. Meta-analysis was conducted to elucidate the efficacy of acupuncture/EA on the basis of symptom score. Results: Of the 13 studies included in the literature review, 12 RCTs compared acupuncture and pharmacological treatments. There were 3 EA RCTs, but only 1 RCT compared EA and sham-EA. A total of 832 participants were included in these studies. Five RCTs showed that acupuncture was more effective than pharmacological treatment in terms of efficacy rate. Regarding the risk of bias summary, the quality of included studies was poor. Only 1 study compared the efficacy of EA and sham EA; therefore, the specific efficacy of acupuncture could not be elucidated. Conclusion: Acupuncture is safe, but the symptom-alleviating effect on CIPN can hardly be determined because of methodological deficiencies of the included studies. In terms of the clinical efficacy rate, acupuncture was more effective than conventional pharmacological treatments. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018111509.

Objectives The purpose of this case is to report the improvement after Korean medical combined treatment about patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Methods We treated patient using electroacupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medication, and rehabilitation therapy for 59 days. Results The weakness of muscles of upper extremities were recovered to normal level, and the muscle power of lower extremities was improved enough to walking with walker. Conclusions We conclude that Korean medical combined treatment is an effective to improve the power of muscle having weakness. But there is a limit on this report due to sufficient number of case. Further studies will be needed. (J Korean Med Rehab 2015;25(1):95-101)

IntroductionRecurrent or persistent low back pain is common after back surgery but is typically not well controlled. Previous randomised controlled trials on non-acute pain after back surgery were flawed. In this article, the design and protocol of a randomised controlled trial to treat pain and improve function after back surgery are described.Methods and analysisThis study is a pilot randomised, active-controlled, assessor-blinded trial. Patients with recurring or persistent low back pain after back surgery, defined as a visual analogue scale value of ≥50 mm, with or without leg pain, will be randomly assigned to an electroacupuncture-plus-usual-care group or to a usual-care-only group. Patients assigned to both groups will have usual care management, including physical therapy and patient education, twice a week during a 4-week treatment period that would begin at randomisation. Patients assigned to the electroacupuncture-plus-usual-care group will also have electroacupuncture twice a week during the 4-week treatment period. The primary outcome will be measured with the 100 mm pain visual analogue scale of low back pain by a blinded evaluator. Secondary outcomes will be measured with the EuroQol 5-Dimension and the Oswestry Disability Index. The primary and secondary outcomes will be measured at 4 and 8 weeks after treatment.Ethics and disseminationWritten informed consent will be obtained from all participants. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Pusan National University Korean Hospital in September 2013 (IRB approval number 2013012). The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.Trial registration numberThis trial was registered with the US National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials Registry: NCT01966250.

Background: Muscle soreness after exercise, called delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), may cause significant changes in muscle function and may increase the risk of sports injuries. Therefore, various therapeutic strategies have been studied to help recovery after exercise. Jakyakgamcho-tang (JGT) is a widely prescribed herbal medicine to treat muscle pain and cramps in traditional Eastern medicine. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of JGT for reducing pain and improving muscle damage after exercise.Methods: This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design clinical trial. A total of 30 healthy male adults will be recruited. Subjects who voluntarily wish to participate in this study will be hospitalized for 4 days. On the first day, the subjects will perform a standardized treadmill exercise for 1 h to induce DOMS. After the exercise, the subjects will take either JGT or a placebo for 3 days. After a more than 1 week wash-out period, the subjects will repeat the same process with the other drug. Pain intensity, calf circumference, and pain threshold will be measured as outcome measures. Blood tests and blood pressure will be measured as safety assessments. In addition, blood tests for muscle damage and inflammation markers, such as creatine kinase, interleukin-6, and Creactive protein, will be analyzed.Discussion: This will be the first trial to assess the effect of JGT on exercise-induced muscle soreness. Our findings will provide valuable data to determine the clinical effects of JGT on DOMS.

Objectives The purpose of this study is to understand current status of Korean Medicine treatment practice patterns for traffic injuries by web-based survey. Methods The structured questionnaire was distributed by a web based survey to 1,630 potential respondents by email from December 19th in 2016 to February 13th in 2017. All data were statistically analysed. Results The response rate was 79.4%. According to the analysis of the outcome of the survey, 88.0% of the participants felt necessity of the development of Korean medicine clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for traffic injuries. Survey results showed cognitive degree about Korean Medicine CPGs' necessity, individual Korean medicine treatments and requirement for extending insurance coverage for patients with traffic injuries. Conclusions This survey study helps to determine current clinical practice patterns of Korea medicine treatments for traffic injuries. These results further anticipate to provide basic data for CPGs for traffic injuries.