: Physiotherapy acupuncturists in New Zealand are encouraged to voluntarily report adverse reactions to acupuncture (ARA) in a scheme administered by their professional organization and provide information regarding the style of acupuncture used in these events.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study.
Results:
An analysis of 176 reports submitted from 1998 to 2013 showed that 81% of signs and symptoms reported as an ARA were minor in nature. Of these reports, sustained needling and dry needling styles were associated with 76% and 18% of major ARA, respectively. Proportionately, dry needling, however, had a 3% more major-to-minor reactions, compared to sustained needling.
Conclusions:
On the basis of these findings, recommendations are made for future ARA reporting to include dry needling practitioners into ARA reporting systems. It is also recommended to incorporate details of acupuncture needling style into future reporting templates so as to understand harm associated with these different approaches better.
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