A Study on Research for Utilization Acupuncture Treatment in Military Medicine

Abstract

Objectives Military medicine is the study of research which includes health, sanitation, clinic, and quarantine in military personnel. This study is focused on research the acupuncture treatment of military medicine. Methods The study on acupuncture research for Military Medicine was referred from via KoreaMed, OASIS, The Journal of Korean Military Medical Association, KMbase, KAMJE, NDSL, KISS, KISTI, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Cochran library. As a result, 18 research papers were found and they were analyzed according to the year of publishment, the titles of journals, the nation of research center, the types of study, the purpose of study, the outcome of measurement, the type of acupuncture, and the assessment of acupuncture effect. And then assessed the risk of bias about RCT, NRCT, prospective cohort studies, and before and after studies. Results The number of the published research papers on acupuncture was increased since 2013. The studies were mainly published in the USA and eight out of 18 were RCT. The purpose of study is mostly for musculoskeletal and psychological disease and medical decision for acupuncture. The type of the acupuncture used is not only traditional acupuncture but also the auricular acupuncture. Even though the research results about the effect of acupuncture were excellent and positive, some of studies had a high risk of bias. Conclusions The studies state about acupuncture treatment as mostly positive and effective, however, further clinical studies are required to obtain objective clinical evidence of acupuncture treatment. Furthermore, future trials would be needed to find out effective acupuncture treatments on military duty. (J Korean Med Rehabil 2016;26(3):85-95)