Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible and shows promise in reducing postoperative atrial fibrillation: The ACU-Heart pilot trial.

Objective: Acupuncture is an effective treatment for arrythmias and postoperative symptoms but has not been investigated after cardiac surgery. Acupuncture After Heart Surgery is a prospective, randomized, controlled pilot trial of daily inpatient acupuncture or standard care after valve surgery with the primary end point being feasibility and secondary end points being reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence and postoperative symptoms.

Methods: A total of 100 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation underwent primary valve surgery via sternotomy and randomized 1:1 to acupuncture (51) or standard care (49).

Acupuncture as Adjuvant Therapy for the Management of Cervical Dystonia.

There are no curative treatments for cervical dystonia (CD), therefore conventional management is aimed at pain relief and muscle relaxation. Many patients with CD use complementary and integrative medicine interventions to manage symptoms, yet there are limited data on the use of acupuncture for CD. The aim of the current study was to determine the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of adjuvant acupuncture.

Restoring Balance for People with Cancer Through Integrative Oncology.

Integrative Oncology incorporates conventional and western cancer treatment approaches with the best of ancient and traditional medicine including nutrition, supplements, Qigong, herbal medicine, mind-body practices, and more. This article offers a guiding conceptual paradigm from an integrative perspective based on the principles of balance and imbalance. An integrative approach is used to help improve quality of life, enhance lifestyle choices and mitigate symptoms and side effects from conventional treatments.

Acupuncture-Related Quality of Life Changes Using PROMIS Computer Adaptive Tests in a Pragmatic Trial with Oncology and General Integrative Medicine Patients: The Role of Baseline Acupuncture Expectations.

Introduction: Acupuncture has been shown to alleviate symptoms and increase general well-being in different medical patient samples. A major challenge in acupuncture clinical research is the availability of comparable and standardized patient-reported outcome measurement (PRO) tools.

Objectives: This study used a pragmatic design to examine longitudinal changes in quality of life (QOL) in a medical patient sample following acupuncture using PROs from the National Institutes of Health's Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) initiative.