Randomized effectiveness trial of a brief course of acupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: Initial posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) care is often delayed and many with PTSD go untreated. Acupuncture appears to be a safe, potentially nonstigmatizing treatment that reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, but little is known about its effect on PTSD.

Methods: Fifty-five service members meeting research diagnostic criteria for PTSD were randomized to usual PTSD care (UPC) plus eight 60-minute sessions of acupuncture conducted twice weekly or to UPC alone.

Military report more complementary and alternative medicine use than civilians.

Objectives: The study objective was to estimate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among active duty military and compare data with civilian use.

Design: A global survey on CAM use in the 12 previous months was conducted. Final participants (16,146) were stratified by gender, service, region, and pay grade.

Natural products and chronic hepatitis C virus.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant public health problem, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 170 million. The standard of care for chronic HCV, a combination of alpha-interferon (IFN) and ribavirin, is only 50% effective, has serious side effects, and can be prohibitively expensive for low-income countries with a high prevalence of HCV. Many patients use natural products, including those who are not eligible for IFN/ribavirin, cannot afford treatment, or fail to respond to IFN.

Auricular acupuncture in the treatment of acute pain syndromes: A pilot study.

This pilot study used a randomized controlled clinical trial design to compare the effects of standard emergency medical care to auricular acupuncture plus standard emergency medical care in patients with acute pain syndromes. Eighty-seven active duty military personnel and their dependents with a diagnosis of acute pain completed the study, which was conducted in the emergency room (ER) at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The primary outcome measure was change in pain level from baseline, as measured by the Numerical Rating Scale.