Table 5.
Central nervous system injuries associated with acupuncture (9 cases).
| First author/year (reference) | Country | Cases age/sex | Disease treated | Punctured site | Complication | Onset after acupuncture | Practitioner | Followup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choo 2000 [71] | USA | 44/M | Neck pain | GV16 (neck) | Acute intracranial hemorrhage | Immediately | Not specified | Recovered (10 d) |
| Hama 2004 [72] | Japan | 70/M | Not stated | Not stated (broken needle) | Medulla oblongata injury, left facial paresthesia | 3 wk | Not specified | Recovered (1 y) |
| Eftekhar 2005 [73] | Iran | 74/M | LBP | Lumbar region | Epidural hematoma | Shortly | Not specified | Recovered (after surgery) |
| Chen 2006 [74] | Taiwan | 30/M | Back pain | Upper back | Epidural haematoma | 1 h | Acupuncturist | Recovered (after surgery) |
| Ulloth 2007 [75] | USA | 52/M | LBP | L1, L2, and L3 Vertebrae (embedded needles) | Cerebrospinal fluid fistula | 14 mo | Acupuncturist | Recovered (after surgery) |
| Liou 2007 [55] | Taiwan | 29/M | Stiffness of neck | Epidural space at C2 level (a broken needle) | Spinal Cord Injury | 3 y | “Nonmedical practitioner” | Recovered (after surgery) |
| Tsukazaki 2008 [76] | Japan | 32/F | Not stated | GV16 (neck) | Subarachnoid hemorrhage | 1 d | Oriental medicine clinic | Not stated |
| Lee 2011 [77] | Korea | 58/F | Quadri- paresis neck pain | Neck | Cervical epidural hematoma | 1 h | Family physician | Recovered (8 wk) |
| Heo 2011 [56] | Korea | 65/M | Not stated | Posterior neck | Intracranial hemorrhage and cerebellar infarction | 3 d | Unauthorized acupuncturist | Recovered (1 mo) |