Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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The aim of this study was to investigate whether a patient's preference for a doctor's face is associated with better assessments of relational empathy in the patient-doctor relationship after the first clinical consultation. ⋯ These findings suggest that the perceived empathy in the patient-doctor relationship is not influenced by the patient's preference for a certain doctor's face. The first impression of a doctor is often determined by his appearance and look. However, whether or not the patient particularly prefers a doctor's face does not seem to matter in developing a good patient-doctor relationship.
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The Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale (MASS) is a tool to measure needle sensations. The aims of the present study were to develop a Chinese version and to assess its psychometric properties. ⋯ A 12-descriptor C-MMASS was established and shown to be a reliable and valid tool in reporting needle sensations associated with deqi among healthy young Chinese people.
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Acupuncture received a positive recommendation in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline for low back pain (LBP). However, no such recommendation was forthcoming in the NICE clinical guideline for osteoarthritis (OA). Importantly, the two guidelines adopted different treatment comparators in their economic analyses of acupuncture; in the LBP guideline 'usual care' was used (with no consideration of placebo/sham interventions), whereas 'sham acupuncture' was the comparator in the OA guideline. ⋯ The treatment comparator chosen in economic evaluations of acupuncture therapy is likely to be a strong determinant of the cost-effectiveness results. Different comparators used in the OA and LBP NICE guidelines may have led to the divergent recommendations in the guidelines.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Electroacupuncture reduces the dose of midazolam monitored by the bispectral index in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation: an exploratory study.
Electroacupuncture, a modern variation on a traditional Chinese treatment, might be useful for sedation and analgesia. This study aims to investigate whether electroacupuncture can modify the dose of midazolam monitored by the bispectral index (BIS) in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Electroacupuncture appears to reduce markedly the dose of sedative drug required in critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation monitored by BIS, without any obvious severe adverse action, and larger studies to confirm the effect are justified.