Cochrane: We aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of using acupuncture to treat mumps in children. Acupuncture has been used to treat children with mumps for hundreds
of years in China. Benefits attributed to acupuncture include decreased
swelling and pain, and shortening of the disease duration. According to
traditional Chinese medicine, health is achieved by maintaining an
uninterrupted flow of Qi, or energy, along 14 meridians.
Mumps is caused
by 'wind warmth evil' (epidemic heat) and 'pyretic toxicity' accumulated in the Shaoyang and Yangming meridians, thus the flow of Qi, sputum
and 'heat evil' stagnate in and around the ears and the cheeks.
Acupuncture can help expel 'wind warmth evil', clear pathogenic heat,
remove toxic substances, act as an anti-inflammatory, alleviate pain and re-establish the normal flow of Qi, thus restoring internal balance.
No trials met our inclusion criteria.
This update aimed to systematically review all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the efficacy
and safety of acupuncture for children with mumps. The evidence is
current to December 2014. Although acupuncture has been widely used in
China for children with mumps and quite a number of trials claiming to
be RCTs
have been published, we identified no eligible trials. Although no
trials were included, we reviewed the studies we found and there were no
reports of adverse events with acupuncture as a treatment for children
with mumps. Therefore, we cannot draw any definite conclusions about the
efficacy and safety of acupuncture