Long-term treatment of chronic pain with acupuncture. Part II.

A 5-year trial of acupuncture therapy in the Finnish NHS is surveyed. The material of 348 pain patients has been described in Part I. Acupuncture was less effective in the elderly, in patients with a psychiatric history, on high doses of analgesics, and in those with longstanding pain. Twenty six per cent of the patients were relieved of pain for more than two years. The response to treatment was not influenced by the patients social status or his expectations of benefit.