Abstract
BackgroundDizziness and vertigo account for roughly 4% of chief symptoms in the emergency department (ED). Pharmacological therapy is often applied for these symptoms, such as vestibular suppressants, anti-emetics and benzodiazepines. However, every medication is accompanied with unavoidable side-effects. There are several research articles providing evidence of acupuncture treating dizziness and vertigo but few studies of acupuncture as an emergent intervention in ED. We performed a pilot cohort study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating patients with dizziness and vertigo in ED.MethodsA total of 60 participants, recruited in ED, were divided into acupuncture and control group. Life-threatening conditions or central nervous system disorders were excluded to ensure participants’ safety. The clinical effect of treating dizziness and vertigo was evaluated by performing statistical analyses on data collected from questionnaires of Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of dizziness and vertigo, and heart rate variability (HRV).ResultsThe variation of VAS demonstrated a significant decrease (p-value: 0.001 and p-value: 0.037) between two groups after two different durations: 30 mins and 7 days. The variation of DHI showed no significant difference after 7 days. HRV revealed a significant increase in high frequency (HF) in the acupuncture group. No adverse event was reported in this study.ConclusionAcupuncture demonstrates a significant immediate effect in reducing discomforts and VAS of both dizziness and vertigo. This study provides clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture to treat dizziness and vertigo in the emergency department.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02358239. Registered 5 February 2015
Highlights
Dizziness and vertigo account for roughly 4% of chief symptoms in the emergency department (ED)
The treatment for dizziness and vertigo consists of only pharmacological therapy, such as vestibular suppressants, anti-emetics, and benzodiazepines in conventional medicine [6]
Acupuncture has been used for relief of acute illness, such as pain, dizziness and vertigo in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) over a thousand years. [7, 8] there has been relatively few research studies revealed acupuncture stimulation may induce an immediate effect to treat dizziness and vertigo [8, 9]
Summary
Dizziness and vertigo can be triggered by peripheral vestibular disorders, central nervous system disorders, or combined lesions, as well as other conditions [3] Some of these problems are not serious while others can be life-threatening, the first goal of clinicians hinges on identifying patients who need inpatient management or emergent intervention [4]. The treatment for dizziness and vertigo consists of only pharmacological therapy, such as vestibular suppressants, anti-emetics, and benzodiazepines in conventional medicine [6]. These medications are often accompanied with unavoidable side-effects and complementary therapies or medicines are always expected. Acupuncture has been used for relief of acute illness, such as pain, dizziness and vertigo in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) over a thousand years. [7, 8] there has been relatively few research studies revealed acupuncture stimulation may induce an immediate effect to treat dizziness and vertigo [8, 9]
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