Adverse events following acupuncture: prospective survey of 32 000 consultations with doctors and physiotherapists

Meta-analysis: Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

“…At least 3 large and rigorous shamcontrolled trials, 2 still ongoing and 1 recently completed but not yet published, will have a major effect on the existing evidence. Safety is best determined with large prospective surveys of practitioners, and 3 such surveys (17)(18)(19) show that serious adverse events after acupuncture are rare. No adverse events were associated with acupuncture in our review, although heterogeneous reporting and relatively small sample sizes limit the usefulness of our data.…”

Acupuncture-related adverse events: a systematic review of the Chinese literature

“…Several serious adverse events were identified through a review of case reports, 14 but very few were found in surveys [7][8][9] or prospective observational studies. 5,6 This suggests that serious acupuncture-related adverse events are rare.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Prospective surveys to determine the frequency of acupuncture-related adverse events have been conducted in Germany, 5,6 Norway 7 and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 8,9 These studies have shown an incidence of mild, transient acupuncture-related adverse events that ranges from 6.71% to 15%. The most common adverse events of this type were local pain from needling (range: 1.1-2.9%) and slight bleeding or haematoma (range: 2.1-6.1%).…”

Acupuntura no Sistema Único de Saúde e a inserção de profissionais não-médicos

“…The best way to increase acupuncture services in the public health system whilst maintaining a high standard of quality is to introduce new qualified acupuncturists according to the guidelines put forward by the PNPIC. Sherman et al 28 highlight that, as long as they are duly trained, every health professional, including physical therapists 29 , can act effectively in the treatment of several types of patients.…”