The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Acupuncture for pain relief during labor

    Researchers at the University of Oxford, in the UK, assessed the role of acupuncture for epidural pain.

    First, the details.

    • 105 nulliparae (had not given birth before) undergoing labor induction at term were randomly assigned to a treatment group.
      • Acupuncture
      • Sham acupuncture
      • Control
    • The main outcome was the need for epidural analgesia during delivery.
    • Other outcomes measured included parenteral analgesia requirement, labor length, delivery mode, neonatal condition and postpartum hemorrhage.

    And, the results.

    • There was no difference in epidural analgesia between acupuncture and sham acupuncture or between acupuncture and control.
    • There were no significant differences in the other outcomes between the acupuncture groups and the control group.
    • Side effects or complications of acupuncture were not identified.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “There was no analgesic benefit with acupuncture for pain relief during induced labor in nulliparae.

    6/2/11 21:09 JR

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