Acupuncture Reduces Crying in Infants with Infantile Colic: A Randomised, Controlled, Blind Clinical Study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate whether acupuncture reduces the duration and intensity of crying in infants with colic.Patients and methods90 otherwise healthy infants, 2–8 weeks old, with infantile colic were randomised in this controlled blind study. 81 completed a structured programme consisting of six visits during 3 weeks to an acupuncture clinic in Sweden. Parents blinded to the allocation of their children met a blinded nurse. The infant was subsequently given to another nurse in a separate room, who handled all infants similarly except that infants allocated to receive acupuncture were given minimal, standardised acupuncture for 2 s in LI4.ResultsThere was a difference (p=0.034) favouring the acupuncture group in the time which passed from inclusion until the infant no longer met the criteria for colic. The duration of fussing was lower in the acupuncture group the first (74 vs 129 min; p=0.029) and second week (71 vs 102 min; p=0.047) as well as the duration of colicky crying in the second intervention week (9 vs 13 min; p=0.046) was lower in the acupuncture group. The total duration of fussing, crying and colicky crying (TC) was lower in the acupuncture group during the first (193 vs 225 min; p=0.025) and the second intervention week (164 vs 188 min; p=0.016). The relative difference from baseline throughout the intervention weeks showed differences between groups for fussing in the first week (22 vs 6 min; p=0.028), for colicky crying in the second week (92 vs 73 min; p=0.041) and for TC in the second week (44 vs 29 min; p=0.024), demonstrating favour towards the acupuncture group.ConclusionsMinimal acupuncture shortened the duration and reduced the intensity of crying in infants with colic. Further research using different acupuncture points, needle techniques and intervals between treatments is required.

New looking to the old problem: Infantile Colic

“…Haftada 2 kez en az 3 hafta akupunktur uygulaması-nın infantil kolikte uygulanabileceği, yan etkisi olmadığı bildirilmekle beraber, yakın zamanda yapılan bir çalışmada yararının olmadığı belirtilmektedir (62) . Kolikli bebeklerde akupunkturun kullanımı, güveni-lirliği ve etkinliğini belirlemek için daha fazla çalış-maya gereksinim vardır.…”

Current Issues of Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children

“…Считается, что наиболее часто у детей отмечают-ся такие функциональные нарушения, как срыгивания, гастроэзофагеальный рефлюкс (ГЭР) и колики. По дан-ным популяционных исследований, до 3-месячного воз-раста срыгивания наблюдаются примерно у 50% детей, в полгода -у 20%, в год -у 5% детей [7]. Среди причин ГЭР у грудных детей более 40% случаев может быть обусловлено аллергией к белкам коровьего молока [7].…”

“…По дан-ным популяционных исследований, до 3-месячного воз-раста срыгивания наблюдаются примерно у 50% детей, в полгода -у 20%, в год -у 5% детей [7]. Среди причин ГЭР у грудных детей более 40% случаев может быть обусловлено аллергией к белкам коровьего молока [7]. Частота возникновения колик варьирует от 5 до 80% [5].…”

Infantile Colic: Exploring the Potential Role of Maternal Acupuncture

“…Moreover, drugs and alternative therapies including acupuncture target the baby without considering the mother. [1][2][3] However, the pathophysiological clues indicate that infantile colic in babies of breastfeeding mothers is a shared pathology between the mother and baby. 4 5 The identifi cation in 1980 of prostaglandins E and F in human milk led to the hypothesis that these prostaglandins were probably a cause of irregular gut motility in the infant.…”