rotated as in the active acupuncture protocol, biweekly for 8 weeks. During the 12 weeks following treatment, a significant reduction in daily rhinitis scores was reported among the acupuncture group. Similarly, the acupuncture group had significantly more symptom free days during the treatment and follow-up periods. Visual analog scores also revealed greater immediate improve- ment among those in the acupuncture group. Laboratory findings revealed that post-treatment IgE levels, which indicate the presence of an allergic antibody, were significantly elevated in the sham group, but not the acupuncture group, as compared with baseline data. Neurologic Disability Several studies have been conducted among children with neurological disabilities in order to examine the role of acupuncture in alleviating specific maladaptive symptoms (68,69). One such study examined the impact of tongue acupuncture on drooling problems among 10 treatment- resistant children, aged 2–18 years, with various neuro- logical disorders (69). Each child received 30 sessions of daily acupuncture over 6 weeks. Prior to treatment and during each session, the primary caretaker completed a VAS assessing drooling severity (70) and recorded drooling severity and frequency to yield an overall drooling score, as previously validated by Heine, Catto- Smith and Reddihough (71). In addition, a blinded research assistant calculated a drooling quotient (72) several times a day. All outcome measures revealed statistically significant improvements over the course of treatment. In addition, 6 month follow-up data suggested that most mothers observed lasting improvements in severity drooling. A second tongue acupuncture study assessed functional outcomes among a sample of 33 children, aged 3–16 years, with cerebral palsy (73). Twenty-two participants were randomized into the treatment group and received 40 daily sessions of tongue acupuncture over 8 weeks. Eleven participants were initially placed in the control group and received 40 sessions of sham acupuncture in which needles were pressed upon, but not inserted into, specified acupoints. Two weeks after the 40 sham acupuncture sessions, the control group crossed over to receive a course of tongue acupuncture. The Gross Motor Functional Measure [GMFM: (74)] was used to assess changes in gross motor skills and the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Index [PEDI: (75)] was adminis- tered to determine self-care, social and cognitive func- tioning. The initial control group was administered a third set of measures after receiving the true acupuncture intervention at week 20. Results suggested a significant increase in motor functioning and significant improve- ments on the mean self-care subscale, the mean mobility subscale and the mean self-care assistance subscale over the course of true acupuncture treatment. No significant eCAM 2009;6(4) 433 differences were detected on the PEDI among the sham acupuncture control group, however, the mean GMFM significantly improved. Paired differences between groups suggested that the mean increase in GMFM scores within the test group was significantly greater than that observed in the control group. Duncan and colleagues (76) conducted a randomized, controlled study investigating osteopathic manipulations and acupuncture among children, aged 11 months–12 years, with spastic cerebral palsy. Participants were enrolled in either a waitlist control group, which included non-therapeutic time with a volunteer (n = 19), an osteopathic manipulation group (n = 23), or an acupunc- ture group in which individually determined and symptom-specific acupoints were employed (n = 19). Based on clinical interviews, 91.3% of parents in the osteopathic group and 100% of the parents in the acupuncture group reported improvements in their children, while only 12% of control group parents reported improvements. Improved functioning was fre- quently described as increased use of legs or hands, more restful sleep, improved mood, more regular bowel move- ments and decreased muscle stiffness. Laryngospasm Researchers examined the use of acupuncture to prevent laryngospasm, a common side effect of pediatric general anesthesia associated with tracheal extubation (77). After waking from general anesthesia for various surgical procedures, 76 children, aged 1–10 years, were randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture or no treatment. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the number of patients who developed post-extubation laryngospasms, such that 5.3% of the acupuncture group and 23.7% of the control group evidenced laryngospasm. It is important to note that patients who did develop laryngospasm were immediately treated with acupuncture and blood letting; symptoms resolved within 1 min of treatment in all patients. Post-operative Vomiting In contrast to the aforementioned conditions, numerous studies have assessed the efficacy of acupuncture for the management of post-operative nausea and vomiting (78–81). An early study by Yentis and Bissonnette (81) examined 90 children, aged 1–16 years, undergoing elective outpatient strabismus surgery. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, including droperidol (82), droperidol plus 5 min of manually stimulated acupuncture on the P6 acupoint, or acupunc- ture alone. Acupuncture was administered after anesthe- sia induction, but prior to surgery. Results revealed no significant differences between the three treatment con- ditions in terms of total incidence of vomiting or