Summary and links to important reports on acupuncture and oriental medicine.

World Health Organization

A World Health Organization interregional seminar on acupuncture, moxibustion and acupuncture anesthesia was held in Beijing ( Peking ) in June 1979, attended by participants from twelve countries. Its purpose was to discuss ways in which priorities and standards could be determined in the acupuncture areas of clinical work, research, training, and technology transfer. It suggested that scientific investigation focus on areas where acupuncture's clinical efficacy had been demonstrated. Apart from the publication of acupuncture analgesia for major surgical procedures, acupuncture also had been promoted as a diagnostic aid and useful with fluoroscopy in gastrointestinal diseases. While clearly not a panacea for all ills, the sheer weight of evidence demanded that acupuncture must be taken seriously as a clinical procedure of considerable value.

During the 1970s,  there had been a growing convergence between the most advanced research knowledge from physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology, and knowledge obtained by research in the field of acupuncture; that is to say, a convergence of modern international science with traditional Chinese medicine. For example, in more than 600 cases of coronary heart disease, the effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving the symptoms was over 80 percent. In 645 cases of acute bacillary dysentry, 90 percent of the patients were cured within ten days as judged by clinical symptoms and signs and the results of stool culture. The technique is also comparatively effective in controlling fever, inflammation and pain. From he viewpoint of modern medicine, the principle action of acupuncture ( and of moxibustion ) was to regulate the function of the human body and to increase its resistance by enhancing the immune system and the antiphlogistic, analgesic, antispastic, antishock and antiparalytic abilities of the body.

The World Health Organization Interregional Seminar drew up a provisional list of diseases that lend themselves to acupuncture treatment. The list was based on clinical experience, and not necessarily on controlled clinical research, and the inclusion of specific diseases were not meant to indicate the extent of acupuncture's efficacy in treating them. See Conditions Treated by Acupuncture.

Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature

WHO encourages and supports countries to identify safe and effective traditional remedies and practices for use in public and private health services. Paying particular attention to supporting research in and the proper application of acupuncture, in 1991, the Forty-fourth World Health Assembly urged Member States to introduce measures for its regulation and control (Resolution WHA44.34).

With the increasing use of acupuncture, the need for a common language to facilitate communication in teaching, research, clinical practice and exchange of information had become pressing and, in 1989, WHO convened a Scientific Group which approved a Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature which is being widely disseminated and applied.

The Scientific Group also recommended that the Organization develop a series of statements and guidelines on acupuncture relating to basic training, safety in clinical practice, indications and contraindications, and clinical research. Guidelines for Clinical Research on Acupuncture were issued by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in 1995.

WHO Guidelines on Safety and Training in Acupuncture

At the request of leaders in the international acupuncture community, who were looking for standardization in approaches to training in acupuncture, the World Health Organization organized the WHO Consultation on Acupuncture at Cervia, Italy, in 1996. More than 50 international experts shared their knowledge and experience, and the participants drafted a guideline document for training and safety. after a few years of delay and editing, the finalized WHO Guidelines on Safety and Training in Acupuncture guidelines were published in 1999.

The guidelines cover basic requirements for training non-physician acupuncturists and physicians wishing to use acupuncture in their clinical work, and include a core syllabus. They are intended to assist national health authorities in setting standards and establishing official examinations, and also medical schools and institutions wishing to arrange training programmes.  

These guidelines are meant for hospitals, clinics and practitioners, and provide standards for safety in the clinical practice of acupuncture. Their purpose is to minimize the risk of infection and accidents, to alert acupuncturists to contraindications, and to advise on the management of complications occurring during treatment. See WHO Guidelines on Safety and Training in Acupuncture.

National Institutes of Health

In 1997, acupuncture received its highest confirmation of credibility to date in the United States. In November 1997, a Consensus Development Conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and several other agencies concluded that "there is sufficient evidence . . . of acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and to encourage further studies of its physiology and clinical value." The panelists recommended that the federal government and insurance companies expand coverage of acupuncture so more people can have access to it. These conclusions were based on the review of numerous studies, of which few were done in English and up to rigorous scientific standards. In spite of this, they found ample evidence to support its continued practice and to recommend further research.

Specifically, the NIH Consensus Statement on Acupuncture states:

"Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States. While there have been many studies of its potential usefulness, many of these studies provide equivocal results because of design, sample size, and other factors. The issue is further complicated by inherent difficulties in the use of appropriate controls, such as placebos and sham acupuncture groups. However, promising results have emerged, for example, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful....

"There is clear evidence that needle acupuncture is efficacious for adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and probably for the nausea of pregnancy. Much of the research is on various pain problems. There is evidence of efficacy for postoperative dental pain. There are reasonable studies (although sometimes only single studies) showing relief of pain with acupuncture on diverse pain conditions such as menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, and fibromyalgia. . . .

"Although many other conditions have received some attention in the literature and, in fact, the research suggests some exciting potential areas for the use of acupuncture, the quality or quantity of the research evidence is not sufficient to provide firm evidence of efficacy at this time."

See the NIH Consensus Statement on Acupuncture.