Acupuncture and Knee Osteoarthritis
Authors: Dieter Wettig
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters16 January 2007Acupuncture and Knee OsteoarthritisDieter Wettig, PhD, MDDieter Wettig, PhD, MDFrom Wiesbaden-Dotzheim, Germany.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-2-200701160-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR: The German acupuncture clinical trials (GERAC) for gonarthrosis may have been unblinded by the study authors. Scharf and colleagues used some of the GERAC cohort in their recent study on acupuncture and osteoarthritis of the knee (1). Many print and online publications have provided details of the study design to the public. In Scharf and colleagues' double-blind study, both patients and telephone interviewers were blinded. The reliability of the study depended on not telling patients that real acupuncture points with deep needling were used in the real acupuncture group and that nonacupuncture points with superficial needling were ...References1. Scharf HP, Mansmann U, Streitberger K, Witte S, Krämer J, Maier C, et al. Acupuncture and knee osteoarthritis: a three-armed randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:12-20. [PMID: 16818924] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Master plan. Version V9.0. Accessed at www.gerac.de/deu/download/Masternplan_V9.0_BK.doc on 25 January 2005. Google Scholar3. Wirksamdeit der akupunkturbehandlung in den indikationen chronische kopfschmerzen, chronische LWS-beschwerden und chronische arthrose schmerzen. Version V4.2. 10 January 2001. Accessed at www.amib.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/download/Studienplan_V4.2.pdf on 4 December 2006. Google Scholar4. Molsberger A, Diener H-C, Krämer J, Michaelis J, Schäfer H, Trampisch HJ, et al. GERAC-Akupunktur-Studien: modellvorhaben zur beurteilung der wirksamkeit. Deutsches Ärzteblatt. 2002;99:A-1819ff. Accessed at www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/artikel.asp?id=32190 on 4 December 2006. Google Scholar5. Scharf H-C, Witte S, Streitberger K, Mansmann U, Wollermann C, Krämer J, et al. Prüfplan GERAC: wirksamkeit und sicherheit von akupunktur bei gonarthrosebedingten chronischen schmerzen. Heidelberg, Germany: University of Heidelberg; February 2003. Accessed at www.biometrie.uni-heidelberg.de/publikationen/44_gerac.pdf on 4 December 2006. Google Scholar6. Streitberger K, Witte S, Mansmann U, Knauer C, Krämer J, Scharf HP, et al. Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for chronic pain caused by gonarthrosis: a study protocol of an ongoing multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trial [ISRCTN27450856]. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2004;4:6. [PMID: 15040805] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Wiesbaden-Dotzheim, Germany.Disclosures: Dr. Wettig participated in Scharf and colleagues' study as a physician performing acupuncture. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAcupuncture and Knee Osteoarthritis Hanns-Peter Scharf , Ulrich Mansmann , Konrad Streitberger , Steffen Witte , Jürgen Krämer , Christoph Maier , Hans-Joachim Trampisch , and Norbert Victor Acupuncture and Knee Osteoarthritis Norbert Victor , Steffen Witte , and Konrad Streitberger Acupuncture and Knee Osteoarthritis Shin-ichi Muramatsu Acupuncture and Knee Osteoarthritis Michal R. Pijak Metrics Cited byThe Effect of Brief Electrical and Manual Acupuncture Stimulation on Mechanical Experimental Pain 16 January 2007Volume 146, Issue 2Page: 147-148KeywordsAcupunctureClinical trialsCohort studiesConflicts of interestFearKneesOsteoarthritisPhysiotherapy ePublished: 16 January 2007 Issue Published: 16 January 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...