Safety of Retained Acupuncture With the Planar Electric Heater at Our Institute
- VernacularTitle:東京女子医科大学東洋医学研究所における面状電気温熱器を用いた置鍼治療の安全性
- Author:
Keizo EBIKO
1
;
Kumiko TAKATA
1
;
Takashi ITO
1
;
Yoko KIMURA
1
;
Hiroshi SATO
1
Author Information
- Keywords: cold pattern; planar electric heater; retained acupuncture; safety
- From:Kampo Medicine 2018;69(4):402-406
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: Our institute performs retained acupuncture for cold-related symptoms using planar electric heaters. After placing retained acupuncture needles at 8 points on the lower back, the site is covered with a planar electric heater and heated for 20 minutes, with the 6-channel dial of the device set at 5, the second highest temperature. Using this method, we treat and examine patients with cold-related symptoms. If patients feel discomfort during the heating process, the procedure is continued when heat is used for treatment and immediately terminated in the case of examination. On examining related adverse events in 75 cases (224 sessions) within the 8-month period between March and October 2016, there was soreness/irritation of the skin surface in 5 (2.2%), itching in 3 (1.3%), and physical deconditioning in 1 (0.4%). However, all of these events were mild and temporary, supporting the safety of the method. As a future challenge, it may be necessary to expand this study to clinical research on traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture/moxibustion.
