Acupuncture in the treatment of infantile colic: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of infantile colic is high, but there is no safe and effective conventional treatment. Acupuncture is a Chinese method of complementary medicine, and its therapeutic effects have been investigated in colic pain, crying out, fecal excretion, anxiety, relaxation and sleep duration. The use of acupuncture in infantile colic has increased despite weak evidence. The aim of this paper was to review the literature about safety and efficiency of acupuncture in infantile colic.Methods: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central, and Scopus were searched with keywords “infantile colic”, and “acupuncture”, and a manual search of references was also performed in articles. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) and case reports were included in this review.Results: Seven of the 36 studies evaluated the effects of acupuncture in infantile colic. Five RCT, one case reports and one personal communication with acupuncturists were evaluated in our studys.Conclusion: Several studies have investigated the effects of acupuncture in infantile colic and found beneficial results. We found evidences of some efficacy and low risk associated with acupuncture in pediatrics. To improve further acupuncture therapy, further research is required to investigate the effects of acupuncture on infantile colic by using experimental and control groups.