An acupuncture treatment is a procedure, like surgery or a psychotherapy session, rather than a drug. For this reason it has been very difficult to subject acupuncture to the gold-standard of randomized blinded trials (RBTs), and almost impossible to conduct truly double-blind trials. Much of the clinical data available for acupuncture consists of case-series, such as those often reported for new surgical procedures. For areas in which many RBTs are available (such as the prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting), these RBTs are the articles that have been emphasized in this collection. For areas in which fewer such definitive trials are available, a greater emphasis has been placed on including large case-series or other sources of less definitive, but still potentially useful clinical data. In addition, every attempt has been made to include the most complete possible list of "side effects" and other adverse events that have been reported in association with acupuncture. This may have resulted in the inclusion of multiple descriptions of single adverse events as well as the probable inclusion of events in which acupuncture was only one of many interventions being used and may not have been the cause of the "side effect."

This bibliography has been assembled specifically to help answer the question of whether, based on the clinical data, acupuncture point therapy is likely to be helpful in a given clinical problem. It is dedicated to the patients, clinicians, and researchers who have produced the information indexed here, as well as to the patients who may benefit from this information in the future. The authors would like to thank Adam Glazer, Jennie P. Hunt, and Peggie S. Tillman of the NLM for their assistance.

Any reproductions of this bibliography, in whole or in part, must include all credits. If you wish to cite this bibliography, the correct format is:
Klein, Lori J.; Trachtenberg, Alan I., compilers. Acupuncture [bibliography online]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine; 1997 Oct [insert cited year month day in brackets]. [insert no. of screens or lines in brackets]. (Current bibliographies in medicine; no. 97-6). 2302 citations from January 1970 through October 1997. Available from: URL http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/resources.html

* American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Medical Acupuncture Research Foundation
5820 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 500
Los Angeles CA 90036
213-937-5514 or 800-521-2262 Fax: 213-937-0959
MARF website: www.medicalacupuncture.org

Sample Citations

Citations are formatted according to the rules established for Index Medicus ®. Sample journal and monograph citations appear below. For journal articles written in a foreign language, the English translation of the title is placed in brackets; for monographs, the title is given in the original language. In both cases the language of publication is shown by a three letter abbreviation appearing at the end of the citation.

Journal Article:

Example:
Clavel-Chapelon F, Paoletti C, Benhamou S. Smoking cessation rates 4 years after treatment by nicotine gum and acupuncture. Prev Med 1997 Jan-Feb;26(1):25-8.

Order, with separating punctuation:
Authors. Article Title. Abbreviated Journal Title Date;Volume(Issue):Pages.