Acupuncture in bronchial asthma.

By now, there is adequate clinical experience of treating bronchial asthma with acupuncture. It has a limited role in treating acute attacks since it is a weak bronchodilator, but it has an excellent prophylactic effect in the long run. Controlled trials have shown that acupuncture causes modest improvement in objective parameters, with significant subjective improvement. However, in all these trials there is a large degree of variation in the technique and methodology used. It is expected that with standardization of the technique as per the guidelines given, future trials will be able to quantify the efficacy of acupuncture in bronchial asthma. In addition, investigation of the mechanism by which acupuncture works may lead to better understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma.