Clinical outcomes and patient perceptions of acupuncture and/or massage therapies in HIV-infected individuals

• Published in: AIDS care Vol. 13; no. 6; pp. 743 - 748
• Main Author: Henrickson, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2001; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Acupuncture; Acupuncture Therapy; AIDS/HIV; alternative medicine; Attitudes; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight; Case-Control Studies; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Clinical outcomes; Combined Modality Therapy; Health; HIV; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV Infections - therapy; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Los Angeles, California; Massage; massage therapy; Medical research; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Patient Satisfaction; Patients; Perceptions; Pilot Projects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Retrospective Studies; Statistics, Nonparametric; Treatment Methods; Treatment Outcome; Treatment Outcomes; Treatments; USA; Viral Load; Human; Immunopathology; Disease; Attitude; Oriental medicine; Treatment efficiency; Subjective experience; Satisfaction; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Retrospective; Infection; Symptomatology; Treatment; Folk medicine; Viral disease; Combined treatment; Acupuncture; Massage; Comparative study; Somatic disease
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540120120076904

This paper uses an innovative methodology to evaluate clinical outcomes and patient perceptions of acupuncture and massage therapies in an HIV medical outpatient setting. Using a quasi-experimental retrospective case control design, treatment subjects were matched by intake date and CD4 count with non-treatment subjects. All subjects had equal opportunity to access HAART therapies and other standard treatments for HIV. There were three treatment groups: acupuncture-only ( n = 8), massage-only ( n = 34) and acupuncture-and-massage ( n = 21). Pre-treatment and post-treatment measures were compared within groups, and treatment and non-treatment group clinical outcomes were compared with each other. Using nonparametric statistical analysis, it was found that the means of the treatment groups' differences in pre- and post-CD4 counts showed improvement when compared with the non-treatment control group's pre- and post-CD4 counts. Treatment subjects were then interviewed and asked to rate their experiences of the therapies; the subjective experience was very positive. The reasons for these findings may be complex, including the possibility that some people may choose to manage their disease more aggressively, and may select a range of treatments. While no large claims are made for this study, these findings may be of interest both to clinicians and funders of acupuncture and/or massage therapies.