Risk Associated with Bee Venom Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveThe safety of bee venom as a therapeutic compound has been extensively studied, resulting in the identification of potential adverse events, which range from trivial skin reactions that usually resolve over several days to life-threating severe immunological responses such as anaphylaxis. In this systematic review, we provide a summary of the types and prevalence of adverse events associated with bee venom therapy.MethodsWe searched the literature using 12 databases from their inception to June 2014, without language restrictions. We included all types of clinical studies in which bee venom was used as a key intervention and adverse events that may have been causally related to bee venom therapy were reported.ResultsA total of 145 studies, including 20 randomized controlled trials, 79 audits and cohort studies, 33 single-case studies, and 13 case series, were evaluated in this review. The median frequency of patients who experienced adverse events related to venom immunotherapy was 28.87% (interquartile range, 14.57–39.74) in the audit studies. Compared with normal saline injection, bee venom acupuncture showed a 261% increased relative risk for the occurrence of adverse events (relative risk, 3.61; 95% confidence interval, 2.10 to 6.20) in the randomized controlled trials, which might be overestimated or underestimated owing to the poor reporting quality of the included studies.ConclusionsAdverse events related to bee venom therapy are frequent; therefore, practitioners of bee venom therapy should be cautious when applying it in daily clinical practice, and the practitioner’s education and qualifications regarding the use of bee venom therapy should be ensured.

Death due to Live Bee Acupuncture Apitherapy

“…The proteins contained include globulins, albumins, prolamins, and glutelins [1]. Chia seeds are increasingly consumed because they are thought to prevent the development of cardiovascular risk factors [2], and their addition to foods such as breakfast cereals, energy bars, yogurt, and bread is increasingly frequent.…”

“…This practice is often performed in private health care centers or by nonmedical practitioners. Although some benefits of apitherapy have been reported, published evidence of its effectiveness and safety is limited, scarce, and heterogeneous [1,2]. Most hypersensitivity reactions to hymenoptera venoms are due to accidental insect stings.…”

“…Most hypersensitivity reactions to hymenoptera venoms are due to accidental insect stings. Only a few cases of allergic reactions after acupuncture have been reported, and most are from areas where traditional medicine is widely used, such as Korea [1,2].…”

“…Furthermore, repeated exposure to the allergen was found to carry a greater risk of severe allergic reactions than in the general population [4]. Various adverse reactions have been reported for apitherapy [2,5].…”

Adverse events associated with acupuncture: a clinicopathologic review

“…Mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis, contamination of various materials including surgical supplies, can occur, and inoculation is usually attributable to a minor trauma, such as a puncture wound. 2 In cases of atypical mycobacterial infection in the immunocompetent patient with a clear history of trauma (acupuncture) with spatial consistency, it is reasonable to think the trauma (breakage of skin integrity and inoculation by acupuncture) is a predisposing factor for the development of an infection, rather than the type of acupuncture. Even if there were no detailed information recommended by Kim et al, 3 continuous cases, studies, and reports of outbreaks of mycobacterial infections associated with acupuncture do not seem coincidental.…”