Important to know: Chronic health conditions should be addressed under direct medical supervision of your GP or consultant, and acupuncture would be an adjunct or complement to usual care – we advise that you let you doctor know when you use this approach.

The British Acupuncture Council has produced an evidence based factsheet about HIV Infection including specific research, trials and mechanisms of action for acupuncture in this field.

About the research: It is worth noting that in research, randomised controlled studies (RCT) are the most reliable in terms of quality of evidence, with a systematic review or meta analysis of numerous studies being the best way of seeing the overall picture of the state of the evidence. Below we have a selection of the available research, which does include some larger RCTs, and reviews of the literature alongside smaller studies. The n= figure tells you how many people were participants in the study.

Resources:

British Acupuncture Council Factsheet on the use of acupuncture in HIV

British Acupuncture Council: Review Paper (aimed at medical practitioners) HIV infection and traditional Chinese medicine: the evidence for effectiveness