We have been utilized acupuncture and moxibustion in our department of internal medicine at Meiji University of Integrative Medicine since its investment in 1987. In the department, various kinds of symptoms in the field of internal medicine have been managed with acupuncture and moxibustion. In this article, I would like to introduce our activities regarding acupuncture treatment in the department of internal medicine and some remarkable results of our clinical studies which evaluated effects of acupuncture and moxibustion as well as relationship between acupuncture therapists and the staff of our department. In the field of respiratory disorders such as COPD or bronchial asthma, usefulness of acupuncture have been proved through a controlled clinical trial which involved COPD patients who had not been able to control with standard care. Also, acupuncture was found to be useful in the management of bronchial asthma in a case series study in which acupuncture treatment was repeatedly applied with intervals without acupuncture. We have also demonstrated that acupuncture was useful for gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Results of a case series with n-of-1 study design showed significant reduction in the symptoms during acupuncture treatment, while those in the period without acupuncture had been aggravated. Data from studies on diabetic complications such as peripheral neuropathy or gastropathy also showed usefulness of acupuncture. We considered that it is valuable to explore unknown usefulness of acupuncture in the field of internal medicine and prove effectiveness of acupuncture with appropriate scientific manner.

[Objective]The aim of this study was to prevent accidental burns caused by touching a heated needle shaft or by a burning moxa ball falling from a moxa needle. Therefore, we measured the central temperature (Tc) of a burning moxa ball and the temperature at the landing point (Td) of a falling moxa ball.
[Methods]Stainless steel acupuncture needles and unrefined moxa for moxa needles were used. The moxa balls weighed 0.15 g (diameter, 13± 1mm), 0.30 g (diameter, 16 ± 1mm), and 0.60 g (diameter, 24 ± 1mm). To measure the Tc of a moxa ball, a K-type thermocouple temperature probe was inserted into the centre of the ball. The Td of a moxa ball was measured by placing the probe 2 mm directly below the moxa ball. At each point in time, the moxa ball was forced to drop after ignition. Each measurement was repeated 5 times. The data were expressed as mean ±standard deviation.
[Results]The maximum Tc of the 0.15, 0.30, and 0.60 g moxa balls was 569 ± 26°C at 72 ± 8s after ignition, 606 ± 26°C at 109 ± 4s, and 624 ± 48°C at 167 ± 14 s, respectively. Tc of each ball decreased to less than 45°C at 180 ± 8s, 225 ± 4s, and 345 ± 13s after ignition, respectively. When a 0.15 g moxa ball was dropped 30 s after ignition, Td measured 1, 5, and 10 s after the drop was 60 ± 6°C, 97 ± 7°C, and 137 ± 31°C, respectively. Td was less than 45 degrees 120 seconds after ignition. When a 0.30 g moxa ball was dropped 120 s after ignition, Td measured 1, 5, and 10 s after the drop was 66 ± 7°C, 96 ± 6°C, and 129 ± 2°C, respectively. Td was less than 40 degrees 120 seconds after ignition. Td was less than 45 degrees 180 seconds after ignition. When a 0.60 g moxa ball was dropped 180 s after ignition, Td measured 1, 5, and 10 s after the drop was 69 ± 3°C, 96 ± 14°C, and 135 ± 20°C, respectively. Td was less than 45 degrees 270 seconds after ignition.
[Conclusion]For 0.15, 0.30, and 0.60 g moxa balls, if Tc, that is the temperature of the probe, is considered to be the temperature of the needle shaft, burns may be caused by touching the heated shaft up until about 180, 240, and 360 s after ignition, respectively. Furthermore, there is a risk of burns caused by dropping a burning 0.15, 0.30, or 0.60 g moxa ball before 120, 180, or 270 s after ignition, respectively.

[Purpose] This study investigated the safety of acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan. A questionnaire about infection control was developed based on the “Guidelines on basic training and safety in acupuncture” published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1999.
[Method] The questionnaire was sent to the members of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM) and the Japan Acupuncture and Moxibustion Association (JAMA) in August 2000 and in September 2001, respectively. The items on the questionnaire were “a clean working environment”, “clean hands of the practitioner”, “preparation of the needling sites”, “sterile needles and equipment, and appropriate storage”, “aseptic technique” and “careful management and disposal of used needles and swabs”.
[Result&Conclusion] The questionnaire response rate was 49.6% (443/894). The results suggest that approaches to infection control are better than those in our previous report in 1996. However, the rate of using disposable needles was still low and most acupucturists held the needle with bare hands during inserting. It is necessary to improve pre-and postgraduate education regarding safety in performing acupuncture and moxibustion, including the infection control.

[Objective] The effects of acupuncture on muscular blood flow, muscular weight, and muscular dynamics were investigated in the rat hindlimb with induced hypoemia. In addition, the optimal conditions for acupuncture in the model were investigated.
[Methods] In male SD rats, the right femoral artery was cut, and a No. 20 40-mm stainless needle was inserted about 3-5 mm into the anterior tibial muscle of the ischemic hindlimb for acupuncture. During acupuncture, the needle was indwelled or electric current was passed, and various stimulations (5h/day, 1 h × 5 times/day, 15 min × 5 times/day, 1 h/day, and 15 min/day) were applied for 5 consecutive days. Seven days after cutting the artery, blood flow was measured by the radioactive microsphere method, and the degree of muscular atrophy was investigated by the weight ratio of the ischemic hindlimb to the contralateral healthy limb, and findings in the intact, hypoemia, hypoemia + indwelled needle, and hypoemia + various current groups were compared. In addition, the anterior tibial muscle was stained to observe the condition of muscular fibers.
[Results and Discussion] In the ischemic group, muscular blood flow was decreased. In the hypoemia+current groups, blood flow was increased. In the groups that received electric current for a prolonged period, 5 h/day and 1 h ×5 times/day, the blood flow was increased but the muscular weight ratio was decreased. However, in the group that received stimulation for 15min×5 times/day, the muscular blood flow was markedly higher that those in the other groups, and the muscular weight ratio was not changed, showing that muscular atrophy did not occur. On staining, capillary neovascularization and VEGF production were greater than those in the hypoemia group, suggesting that these factors were closely involved in the increase in blood flow.

In this seminar, the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on muscle diseases and muscular functions/metabolism were reported, and the status of these techniques were summarized.
In the clinical study section, it was reported that the effects of treatment on muscle diseases and muscular functions were evaluated using objective criteria, such as electromyograms. In the review of the methods for the evaluation of muscular functions using surface electromyograms, the static electromyograms, dynamic electromyograms, and power-spectrum analysis were presented, and the effects of acupuncture and manual treatment on diseases mainly in locomotor organs and their problems were discussed. For example, 72.9% of the 48 patients with cervical dystonia were found to show improvement by 10 courses of acupuncture treatment, and effects were observed in all patients by electromyography. Similar effects were obtained with patients with drug-induced dystonia. In many of the patients with writer's cramp who underwent 10 courses of acupuncture treatment, improvement in writing tests, subjective evaluation, and the strength of pen stokes were observed.
In the review of the basic studies, the effects of acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on muscular tension, muscular metabolism (energy metabolism, intracellular pH, lactate metabolism), muscular circulation, and noxious and non-noxious motor reflex were surveyed, and their mechanisms and problems were discussed.

[Objective]To survey the current situation of infection control in clinical practice of acupuncture and to discuss the problems and strategy.
[Methods]The subjects were 1,000 acupuncture clinics enrolled in iTownPage in the Chubu region. The questionnaire was sent to them by mail in November 2008. The questions were the following; 1) Profile of respondent, 2) Hand hygiene, 3) Preparation of needling sites, 4) Sterilization and storage of needles and equipment and disposable products, 5) Disposable needle, 6) Hand-pressing (Oshi-de), 7) Infectious waste, 8) Awareness, efforts and self-evaluation of practitioner for infection control, and 9) Comments of this survey.
[Results]The collection rate was 22.2%. Washing time for less than 30 sec was 31.1%, Usage rate of a cloth towel was 67.7%, Hand antisepsis by the basin method was 18.9%, Usage rate of 50 %isopropyl alcohol was 19.8%, etc. 26.6%of all respondents answered that the possibility of infection in acupuncture and moxibustion therapy was very low and 50.9%of those responded that it was low. However, only 27.0%of the responders answered that infection control in their own clinics was appropriate. In addition, 72.5%of the responders belonged to the Japan Acupuncture and Moxibustion Association (JAMA) or the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM).
[Conclusion]Although some infection controls have been improved, many problems became clear. These problems are suggested to be caused by poor acknowledge, previous experience and wishful thinking of practitioners. It is necessary to continue activities to raise practitioner's awareness for infection control.

In The 63rd Annual Congress of JSAM (Ehime 2014), the Committee for Safe Acupuncture of Research Department in the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM) conducted a workshop entitled "The Regional Anatomy Q&A for safety needling"which provided information on organ damage and neurological injuries that may occur after acupuncture treatments. This workshop stated the need for improvements in safe practices of acupuncture.
This workshop was divided into three parts:(1) results of questionnaire surveys conducted in Japan for acupuncturists on their clinical experience of adverse events and for orthopaedic doctors on their clinical experience of patients who suffered adverse events after acupuncture treatment;(2) a literature search of severe adverse events e.g., pneumothorax and neurological injuries, associated with acupuncture treatment in Japan;(3) the regional anatomy of the upper part of the body, which is based on several anatomical studies on acupoints.
The incidence of severe adverse events is considered to be very low during all acupuncture treatments;however, the real incidence is estimated to be higher than the number of case reports in the literature. In order to prevent severe adverse events, regional anatomical knowledge of needling points is very important, and furthermore, safe needling techniques are required.
We hope that this workshop can aid in enhancing the knowledge and techniques and contribute to safe practices of acupuncture.

[Objective]The aim of this study was to survey the current status of adverse events (malpractice and side-effects) in clinical practices of acupuncture (Acp) and moxibustion (Mox), to discuss the problems, and to suggest corrective strategies.
[Methods]The survey was sent by mail in October 2009 to 6,000 Acp clinics (including Mox) selected at random from the i-Town-Page telephone directory. The questions addressed the following issues:(1) respondent profile;(2) Acp adverse events;(3) Mox adverse events;(4) complaints and litigation;(5) informed consent regarding these adverse events;(6) subscriptions to publications that address the safety issues of Acp and Mox;and (7) access to free safety resources. Note that we inquired about the experiences of adverse events but did not inquire about their frequency.
[Results]The response rate was 21.6%. The top three adverse events for Acp were subcutaneous hemorrhage (65.8%), micro-hemorrhage (62.0%), and needle pain (52.9%). The top malpractice event was forgotten needles (32.7%). Needle breakage and pneumothorax, which are severe malpractice events, were reported by 2.2%and 2.0%of the clinics, respectively. The top three adverse events for Mox were accidental and unintentional burn injury (24.0%), singed hair (15.5%), and singed clothes (15.0%). The most severe malpractice event was suppuration of the Mox point (10.8%). The top adverse events associated with complaints and litigation were symptom exacerbation (21.8%) and pneumothorax (36.4%). Only 74.8%of respondents obtained informed consent, but of those, 61.0%reported providing adverse affect warnings orally. Subscriptions to books and periodicals on the safety of Acp and Mox were reported by less than 30.0%of the respondents.
[Conclusion]The most common adverse events associated with Acp were side effects caused by excessive stimulation. With Mox adverse events were more commonly attributable to negligence. The low subscription rate to safety periodicals suggests that safety information is not presently widely distributed. It is necessary to transmit safety information via the Internet as well as in books and other periodicals.

[Objective]The purpose of this study was to gain a clear understanding of adverse events associated with acupuncture (Acp) and moxibustion (Mox) therapies. Thus, we administered questionnaires to orthopedists in order to understand the clinical experience of patients who suffered adverse events.
[Materials and Methods]For this study, 6,000 orthopedic hospitals and clinics were randomly selected from 13,225 hospitals and clinics listed in the telephone directory iTown Page (http://itp.ne.jp). In October 2011 and July 2012, 3,500 and 2,500 questionnaires, respectively, were sent by mail. The questions addressed the following:(1) the respondent's profile (e.g., years of experience as a licensed orthopedist);(2) adverse events associated with Acp, including electroacupuncture;(3) adverse events associated with Mox;(4) use of Acp and Mox therapies in the orthopedist's hospital or clinic;(5) comments on the safety of Acp and Mox therapies. The identity of respondents remained secret.
[Results]The questionnaire response rate was 10.7%. The respondents were licensed orthopedists for 30 ± 11 years (mean ±standard deviation). Adverse events associated with Acp included retained needles and needle breakage (n ≥148), hemorrhages (n ≥ 64), infections (n ≥ 40), organ injuries (n = 28), and so on. Retained needles (≥ 145 out of 148), subcutaneous hemorrhages (63out of 64), arthritis (17 out of 40), and pneumothorax injuries (27 out of 28) occurred most frequently. The adverse events associated with Mox were burn injuries (n ≥ 121), infections (n ≥ 16), and other adverse events (n = 2). Second-degree burn injuries (n ≥ 48 out of 121) and suppuration infections (11 out of 16) occurred most frequently. These were the most common adverse events associated with Acp and Mox. The usage rate of Acp and Mox therapies in the orthopaedist's hospital or clinic was 18.6%. There were many comments on infection control by acupuncturists (n = 27), education and technical levels of Acp and Mox (n = 13), and retained needles and needle breakages (n = 13).
[Conclusion]These survey results reveal that the occurrence of severe adverse events associated with Acp and Mox was higher than our expectation. In order to improve the safety of Acp and Mox therapies, various educational activities to disseminate information about existing safety measures to acupuncturists are needed. Further studies on new preventive measures, continuous surveys, and feedback to acupuncturists are also required.