September 4, 2012

expert reaction to paper on patient safety incidents from acupuncture treatments

The International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine published a paper detailing risks associated with acupuncture treatments.

Prof. Edzard Ernst, Emeritus Professor, University of Exeter, said:

“The investigation shows for the first time that acupuncture, as employed within the NHS, is not devoid of risks. The adverse events disclosed in this study tend to be mild and rare but there is good reason to suspect that, due to under-reporting, the real size of the problem is substantially larger.”

‘Patient safety incidents from acupuncture treatments: A review of reports to the National Patient Safety Agency’ by Wheway et al., published in The International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine.