Acupuncture may have a beneficial effect with respect to peak expiratory flow in children with asthma.
The results indicate that acupuncture, in the form of traditional needle acupuncture or laser acupuncture, may provide benefit with respect to PEF and perhaps FEV1, along with asthma-specific anxiety level. However, these findings are based on the results of three studies and should be interpreted with caution. In addition, the results of Karlson and Bennicke indicate a significant effect of acupuncture on medication use and symptoms in younger children. The quality assessment shows that the study quality was not high, with four of the studies being blinded. In addition, the acupuncture points used varied among studies.
Methodologic variability remains an issue. However, the results suggest that acupuncture may have a beneficial effect with respect to PEF or PEF variability in children with asthma. The efficacy of acupuncture on other outcome measures is unclear.
