Date of Award
2023
Degree Type
Selective Evidence-Based Medicine Review
Degree Name
Master of Science in Health Sciences - Physician Assistant
Department
Physician Assistant Studies
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Does acupuncture help reduce headache intensity in patients who have migraine without aura?”
Study Design: A systematic review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) all published between 6/29/2016 and 2022.
Data Sources: All three RCTs were peer-reviewed articles published in English on PubMed. Each article was relevant to the clinical question and had patient-oriented outcomes that included headache intensity.
Outcome Measured: Headache intensity was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) in all three RCTs. The VAS is a scale from 0-10 with correlating cartoon faces showing visuals of no pain to worst pain. Each article reported mean changes from baseline and p-values.
Results: In the RCT by Zhao et al., true acupuncture led to a reduction in headache intensity by -2.5 points on the VAS, and the difference between the mean change from baseline was statistically significant with a P value of <0.001 in each group and the difference between the true and sham acupuncture group was 1.1 points. In the RCT by Li et al., true acupuncture led to a reduction in headache intensity by -2.16 points on the VAS, and the difference between the mean change from baseline between the true and sham acupuncture group was 1.02 with a treatment group P value of 0.000 and sham acupuncture group P value of 0.158. In the RCT by Xu et al., true acupuncture led to a reduction in headache intensity by -2.2 points on the VAS, and the difference between the mean change from baseline was statistically significant with a P value of <0.001 in each group and the difference between the true and sham acupuncture group was 1.3 points.
Conclusions: All three RCTs showed that migraine patients without aura in true acupuncture treatment groups experienced a statistically significant reduction in headache intensity as measured by the VAS. However, the change between true and sham acupuncture was minimal at no more than 1.3 points on the VAS. Further studies should be completed in other locations to allow for more generalizability and should study how effective acupuncture and migraine medication are together in reducing headache intensity and compare its effectiveness to acupuncture or medication alone.
Recommended Citation
Hults, Hannah S., "Does Acupuncture Help Reduce Headache Intensity in Patients Who Have Migraine Without Aura?" (2023). PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship. 664.
https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/pa_systematic_reviews/664