2020 Chinese Medicine

Our findings revealed that all acupuncture methods are effective and safe for allergic rhinitis. Acupuncture plus conventional medicine are potentially the most effective treatment strategies for allergic rhinitis.

Our findings revealed that all acupuncture methods are effective and safe for allergic rhinitis. Moreover, either moxibustion or manual acupuncture plus conventional medicine are potentially the most effective treatment strategies for allergic rhinitis. Based on these findings, it is evident that acupuncture therapy is not inferior to pharmacologic therapy. Therefore, for allergic rhinitis patients who are either unresponsive to conventional medicine or are intolerant to adverse events, acupuncture therapy should be administered. However, the quality of these included trials was mainly ranked as moderate quality, we recommend additional well-designed RCTs with larger sample sizes to validate these findings.

Acupuncture methods for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review and bayesian meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Yin, Z., Geng, G., Xu, G. et al.

2018 Acupuncture in Medicine

Acupuncture appeared to significantly reduce the number of days of antihistamine use while improving rhinitis-specific quality of life and seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms

The data from 414 patients were analysed. The acupuncture group used antihistamines significantly less often compared with the other groups (acupuncture vs sham acupuncture: mean difference −4.49 days, p=0.01; acupuncture vs RM: mean difference −9.15 days, p<0.001). Approximately 38% of the acupuncture group did not use any antihistamine in contrast to only 16% in the RM group. The pre-post comparison suggested that the acupuncture patients did not need to increase the days of antihistamine use to alleviate their symptoms, unlike the other groups.

Acupuncture appeared to significantly reduce the number of days of antihistamine use while improving RQoL and SAR symptoms; it can therefore be considered a valuable, additional treatment option for patients with SAR.

Impact of acupuncture on antihistamine use in patients suffering seasonal allergic rhinitis: secondary analysis of results from a randomised controlled trial Adam D, Grabenhenrich L, Ortiz M, Binting S, Reinhold T, Brinkhaus B

2015 Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Clinicians may offer acupuncture, or refer to a clinician who can offer acupuncture, for patients with allergic rhinitis who are interested in nonpharmacologic therapy.

The primary purpose of this guideline is to address quality improvement opportunities for all clinicians, in any setting, who are likely to manage patients with allergic rhinitis, as well as to optimize patient care, promote effective diagnosis and therapy, and reduce harmful or unnecessary variations in care. The guideline is intended to be applicable for both pediatric and adult patients with allergic rhinitis. Children under the age of 2 years were excluded in this clinical practice guideline because rhinitis in this population may be different than in older patients and is not informed by the same evidence base.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Allergic Rhinitis Seidman MD et al.

2015 American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy

Our meta-analysis suggests that that acupuncture could be a safe and valid treatment option for allergic rhinitis patients.

Because acupuncture may modulate the immune system, it has been proposed as a useful treatment for patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). Here, we assessed the evidence for the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for the management of AR patients by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literatures.

Thirteen full papers that met our inclusion criteria were included, and a total of 2365 participants, including 1126 as treatment group and 1239 as control group, were enrolled. Compared with control group, acupuncture treatment group exerted a significant reduction in nasal symptom scores (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -4.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -8.42 to -0.43, p = 0.03), medication scores (WMD: 1.39, 95% CI: -2.18 to -0.61, p = 0005), and serum IgE (WMD: -75.00, 95% CI: -91.17 to -58.83, p < 0.00001). Data relating to Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) and 36-Item Short-Form (SF-36) component score in included studies were analyzed, which ultimately point to the efficacy of acupuncture treatment in improving quality of life in AR patients. No fatal events were reported in any of the included studies, and no serious systemic reaction, which needed treatment in the hospital, was related to the acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Feng S, Han M, Fan Y, Yang G, Liao Z, Liao W, Li H

2015 Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Four weeks of acupuncture treatment is a safe and effective option for clinical management of seasonal allergic rhinitis in the Melbourne area for patients' symptom relief and quality of life improvement.

A total of 175 participants were included in this trial. RA was significantly better than SA for decreasing SAR symptom severity (sneezing, mean difference −0.28, 95% confidence interval −0.51 to −0.05; itchiness of ears and palate, mean difference −0.40, 95% confidence interval −0.69 to −0.11) at the end of treatment and improving participants' QoL at the end of the treatment and follow-up phases. Furthermore, the acupuncture treatment was safe and well tolerated.

Acupuncture for seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled trial Xue CC, Zhang AL, Zhang CS, DaCosta C, Story DF, Thien FC

2015 Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery

There are high-quality randomized controlled trials that demonstrate efficacy and effectiveness for acupuncture in the treatment of both seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis.

Our review of the medical literature from January 2013 through December 2014 revealed that there is research demonstrating efficacy and effectiveness for acupuncture in the treatment of allergic rhinitis, as well as improvement of quality of life and quality-adjusted life-years.

Acupuncture and allergic rhinitis Malcolm B. Tawa, William D. Reddyb, Folashade S. Omolec, and Michael D. Seidmand