Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Review Article

Acupuncture for Infantile Colic: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

Table 1

Characteristics of included studies.
Study IDAge range (week)CountryMaternal history (%)Acupuncture group(n)Control group(n)Main outcomesRisk of bias assessmentConclusion
123456
Landgren 2010 [19]2-8Sweden(i) Acupuncture group: food intolerance/allergy (37%), had infantile colic (45%)
(ii) Control group: food intolerance/allergy (63%), had infantile colic (58%)		Standardized manual acupuncture (46)No treatment (40)(i)Duration of fussing, crying and colicky crying
(ii) Adverse events		LLLLLL“Standardised, light stimulation of the acupuncture point LI4 twice a week for 3 weeks reduced the duration and intensity of crying more quickly in the acupuncture group than in the control group.”
Landgren 2016 [20]2-8SwedenNot reportedA: Standardized manual acupuncture (49) + usual care with nurse consultation
B: Semi-standardized acupuncture (49) ) + usual care with nurse consultation		Usual care with nurse consultation (49)(i) Total crying time
(ii) Number of colic infants
(iii) Adverse events		LLLLLL“Minimal acupuncture shortened the
duration and reduced the intensity of crying in infants with colic.”
Reinthal 2008 [13]1-25SwedenNot reportedStandardized manual acupuncture + simethicone solution (20)Simethicone solution
(20)		(i) Crying per day
(ii) Modified Behavioral Pain Scale(MBPS)		UUUULL“Four treatments with light needing on one point in the hand may alleviate crying and pain related behavior without any noted side effects.”
Skjeie 2013 [21]3-13NorwayNot reportedStandardized manual acupuncture (44)No treatment (40)(i) Minutes of crying per day
(ii) General assessment of the child’s condition
(iii) Adverse effects.		LLLLLL“This trial of acupuncture treatment for infantile colic showed no
statistically significant or clinically relevant effect.”
1: sequence generation; 2: allocation concealment; 3: blinding of participants; 4: blinding of outcome assessor; 5: selective reporting; 6: incomplete outcome; low risk of bias: L; high risk of bias: H; unclear risk of bias: U. Conclusion was extracted from the published article.