Acupuncture in Dermatology: An Update to a Systematic Review

Hwang J, Lio PA · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · 2021 January 01

DOI 10.1089/acm.2020.0230

Objective

Acupuncture is an important Traditional Chinese Medicine modality based on the fundamental theory that disease is caused by disruptions in the body's qi. Understanding the use of acupuncture in dermatology is important due to the rising prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use. A systematic review published in 2015 found that acupuncture improves outcomes in several dermatological diseases. We performed a systematic review of studies that have been done since then to present updated evidence.

Conclusions

Acupuncture is an important Traditional Chinese Medicine modality based on the fundamental theory that disease is caused by disruptions in the body's qi. Understanding the use of acupuncture in dermatology is important due to the rising prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use. This showed that acupuncture improves clinical outcomes in uremic pruritus, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and itch.

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Insights

Acupuncture improves clinical outcomes in uremic pruritus, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and itch.

A systematic review published in 2015 found that acupuncture improves outcomes in several dermatological diseases. We performed a systematic review of studies that have been done since then to present updated evidence. Results showed that acupuncture improves clinical outcomes in uremic pruritus, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and itch. Acupuncture does not significantly reduce postoperative itch in patients undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. While there are some promising studies that support the use of acupuncture for skin diseases, additional large-scale, randomized, sham-controlled trials need to be performed to present consistent high-level evidence of acupuncture's role in dermatology.