Efficacy of acupuncture in management of premenstrual syndrome: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND
The effectiveness of acupuncture in the case of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is not fully understood.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness and adverse effects of acupuncture for the symptomatic treatment of PMS from randomised controlled trials (RCTs).


METHODS
Electronic databases, including English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese, were systematically searched up to January 2009 with no language restrictions.


METHODS
RCTs comparing acupuncture with control investigating acupuncture for PMS were considered.


METHODS
Study collection and quality assessment were performed by two reviewers using the criteria described in the Cochrane Handbook.


RESULTS
Nine studies were systematically reviewed. Only two of the nine trials reported details regarding sequence generation and allocation concealment. Four studies reported a significant difference in reduction of PMS symptoms for acupuncture treatment compared with pharmacological treatment. Two studies reported the improvements in primary symptoms within the acupuncture and herbal medications groups compared with baseline. Only two RCTs reported information regarding acupuncture-related adverse events, which included one case of a small subcutaneous haematoma.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the included trials showed that acupuncture may be beneficial to patients with PMS, there is insufficient evidence to support this conclusion due to methodological flaws in the studies, including unknowns in sequence generation, concealment of allocation, blinding and outcome measures.
Cho
Seung-Hun
SH
Hospital of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, #1 Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. chosh@khu.ac.kr
Kim
Jongwoo
J
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic