Research Trends in Pharmacopuncture Treatment for Lateral Epicondylitis

The aim of this study was to examine pharmacopuncture treatment for lateral epicondylitis, and to contribute to developing a standardized treatment regimen by reviewing trends in clinical trials. Five randomized controlled trials, 1 case-control study, and 8 cohort studies published after 1999, that involved pharmacopuncture for lateral epicondylitis, were selected from Korean and international online databases (n = 8). The type of pharmacopuncture, dose, frequency, efficacy, and adverse events were analyzed. Seven types of pharmacopuncture were used, namely Bee Venom, Illicium henryi Diels, Akebiae Caulis, Angelicae sinensis Diels, Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort, Hominis Placenta, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix. Dose, treatment duration, and treatment frequency varied widely. One study assessed the treatment efficacy according to frequency. Nine studies lacked data on adverse events. The quality of 5 randomized controlled trials was low. Although pharmacopuncture treatment appeared to be effective for lateral epicondylitis, it was difficult to standardize the regimen for lateral epicondylitis.