Effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with allergic rhinitis—Results of a pragmatic randomised trial

Abstract

Objective Acupuncture is widely used in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis, but the available evidence is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in addition to routine care in patients with allergic rhinitis compared to treatment with routine care alone. Methods In a randomised controlled study with an additional cohort, patients with AR were randomly allocated to a group receiving up to 15 acupuncture sessions over 3 months (ACU) or to a control group (CON) receiving no acupuncture. Patients not consenting to randomisation received acupuncture treatment (NR-ACU). Additionally, patients were allowed to receive usual medical care. In standardised questionnaires rhinitis-specific quality of life (RQLQ) and health-related general quality of life (SF-36) were assessed at baseline and after 3 months. Results A total of 5237 patients (39±12 years, 62% female; ACU: 487, CON: 494, NR-ACU: 4.256) were included in the study; 981 patients were randomised. At 3 months, the improvement of RQLQ was more pronounced in the ACU than in the CON (RQLQ: from 3.1±1.1 to 1.5±1.2; and from 3.1±1.1 to 2.6±1.5, p p p Conclusions Results of this trial suggest that treating patients suffering from allergic rhinitis with adjunctive acupuncture therapy leads to clinically relevant benefits.