Clinical practice guideline for acupuncture and moxibustion: Female urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common problem worldwide. It has a major impact on physical and social activities and interpersonal relationships. UI is common in women, but is under-reported and under-treated. It affects the quality of life of female patients severely. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been proposed as potentially effective interventions for female UI. Hence, for the benefit of acupuncture practitioners around the world, the World Federation of Acupuncture-moxibustion Societies initiated a project to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the use of acupuncture and moxibustion to treat female UI. This CPG was developed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, referring to the principles of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. During the development of the CPG, the guideline development group (GDG) played an important role. The clinical questions, recommendations and therapeutic protocols were all formulated by GDG using the modified Delphi method. This CPG contains ten recommendations about the use of acupuncture and moxibustion interventions for ten clinical questions, which include nine conditional recommendations for the intervention and one conditional recommendation for either the intervention or the comparison. This CPG also provides one protocol for conventional filiform needle therapy, two therapy protocols for deep needling stimulation on lumbosacral acupoints, and four moxibustion therapy protocols, based on the protocols presented in randomized controlled trials reviewed by the GDG. Please cite this article as: Yang C, Wang SZ, Chen S, Du S, Wang GQ, Guo W, Xie XL, Peng BH, Du SH, Zhao JP. Clinical practice guideline for acupuncture and moxibustion: Female urinary incontinence. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(3): 258-269.

Clinical practice guideline for acupuncture and moxibustion: Allergic rhinitis.

Acupuncture is one of the most effective complementary therapies for allergic rhinitis (AR) and has been recommended by several clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for AR. However, these CPGs mentioned acupuncture without making recommendations for clinical implementation and therapeutic protocols, therefore limiting the applicability of acupuncture therapies for AR. Hence, for the benefit of acupuncture practitioners around the world, the World Federation of Acupuncture-moxibustion Societies have initiated a project to develop the CPG for the use of acupuncture and moxibustion to treat AR. This CPG was developed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, referring to the principles of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. During the development of the CPG, the guideline development group (GDG) played an important role. The clinical questions, recommendations and therapeutic protocols were all formulated by the GDG using the modified Delphi method. The CPG contains recommendations for 15 clinical questions about the use of acupuncture and moxibustion interventions. These include one strong recommendation for the intervention based on high-quality evidence, three conditional recommendations for either the intervention or standard care, and 11 conditional recommendations for the intervention based on very low quality of evidence. The CPG also provides one filiform needle acupuncture protocol and five moxibustion protocols extracted based on the protocols presented in randomized controlled trials reviewed by the GDG. Please cite this article as: Du SH, Chen S, Wang SZ, Wang GQ, Du S, Guo W, Xie XL, Peng BH, Yang C, Zhao JP. Clinical practice guideline for acupuncture and moxibustion: Allergic rhinitis. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(3): 245-257.

[Application of meridian and acupoint diagnosis of three yin meridians of foot in the treatment for gynecological diseases with acupuncture and moxibustion].

With three representative types of gynecological diseases (dysmenorrhea, pelvic inflammation, polycystic ovary syndrome) as examples, the application methods of meridian and acupoint diagnosis for gynecological diseases treated with acupuncture and moxibustion are discussed. During clinical diagnosis and treatment, it is recommended to examine the patient's leg segment along the three yin meridians of foot, aiming to explore the positive reactions of the meridians and acupoints (color, shape, skin temperature, sensory abnormalities, etc.). Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment at this positive reaction place can improve the clinical efficacy. Meridian and acupoint diagnosis could provide basis for meridian syndrome differentiation, thus guiding the selection of acupoint prescriptions; it is also helpful to clarify the deficiency, excess, cold and heat of the disease nature, thus guiding the selection of acupuncture and moxibustion methods. In addition, it is an auxiliary method to estimate the prognosis and outcome of the disease.

[Clinical efficacy of Bushen Huoxue Culuan Formula in treatment of infertility caused by diminished ovarian reserve due to kidney deficiency and blood stasis].

To study the clinical efficacy and safety of Bushen Huoxue Culuan Formula in treating infertility caused by diminished ovarian reserve(DOR) with kidney deficiency and blood stasis. A total of 100 DOR patients treated at Xiyuan Hospital, Acupuncture Hospital and Clinic of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from 2017 to 2020 in line with the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly divided into experimental group and control group at the ratio of 1∶1. The experimental group was treated with Bushen Huoxue Culuan Formular, while the control group was treated with Climen and Clomiphene for 3 menstrual cycles. The ovulation rate, pregnancy rate, pregnancy success rate, serum hormone levels, and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) symptom scores were observed in the 2 groups. The total effective rate was 92.00% in the experimental group and 72.00% in the control group, with a statistical difference between the two groups(P<0.01); the experimental group was superior to the control group in reducing FSH level, increasing AMH level, improving TCM symptoms, increasing pregnancy rate and pregnancy success rate, with a significant difference(P<0.05). There was no abnormal safety indicator and adverse reaction. Bushen Huoxue Culuan Formular is effective in treating infertility caused by DOR due to kidney deficiency and blood stasis, with a safety and reliability.