A Systematic Review of Clinical Study of Bee Venom Acupuncture

Abstract

Objectives : The purpose of this systematic review was to overview and evaluate the current state of the usage of bee venom acupuncture. Methods : We collected 173 articles on bee venom acupuncture(BVA) clinical study from eight electronic databases from January 2002 to June 2013. Results : BVA was used in musculoskeletal diseases for 66 %, and the chosen acupoints were various. The ratio of the reports which had collected below 10 cases was 43 %. The concomitant treatment and evaluation tools showed diversity in each article. Conclusions : Bee venom clinical study shows the lack of unity and consistent regulation, and has low clinical cases. Future studies should correct these limits and promote more varied research to develop the therapy of bee venom acupuncture.