Hiccup

BACKGROUND: Persistent and intractable hiccups (typically defined as lasting for more than 48 hours and one month respectively) can be of serious detriment to a patient's quality of life, although they are relatively uncommon. A wide range of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have been used for the treatment of persistent and intractable hiccups. However, there is little evidence as to which interventions are effective or harmful.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for hiccups following stroke. METHODS: Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and four Chinese medical databases were searched from their inception to 1 June 2015. The dataset included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with no language restrictions that compared acupuncture as an adjunct to medical treatment (effectiveness) or acupuncture versus medical treatment (comparative effectiveness) in stroke patients with hiccups. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the trials.

Acupuncture and related therapies such as moxibustion and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation are often used to manage cancer-related symptoms, but their effectiveness and safety are controversial. We conducted this overview to summarise the evidence on acupuncture for palliative care of cancer. Our systematic review synthesised the results from clinical trials of patients with any type of cancer. The methodological quality of the 23 systematic reviews in this overview, assessed using the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews Instrument, was found to be satisfactory.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of acupuncture treatment for persistent hiccups in cancer patients. DESIGN: The study design was a retrospective case series. SETTINGS/LOCATION: The study setting was the Clinical Research Center of the National Institutes of Health. SUBJECTS: The subjects were 16 adult male patients ages 27-71 with cancer, with persistent hiccups. INTERVENTIONS: There were one to three acupuncture sessions over a 1-7-day period.