Clinical note
Isolated Median Sensory Neuropathy After Acupuncture

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Abstract

Lee CH, Hyun JK, Lee SJ. Isolated median sensory neuropathy after acupuncture.

A 47-year-old left-handed man presented with pain and numbness in his left thumb and index finger after acupuncture treatment on an acupoint in his left wrist. A technique of herbal acupuncture, involving the use of a needle coated with apricot seed extract, was used. Median nerve conduction study showed an absence of sensory nerve action potential in the left index finger, whereas the results were normal in all other fingers. The radial and ulnar nerves in the left thumb and ring finger, respectively, showed no abnormality. Infrared thermography of the left index finger showed severe hypothermia. The patient was diagnosed as having an isolated injury to the sensory nerve fibers of the median nerve innervating the index finger. This is the first case report of complications from an herbal acupuncture treatment, and it highlights the possibility of focal peripheral nerve injury caused by acupuncture.

Section snippets

Case Description

A 47-year-old left-handed man presented with a 25-day history of pain and numbness in his left thumb and index finger after undergoing acupuncture treatment. He was a professional photographer and mentioned that he had visited a clinician who practiced oriental medicine and underwent acupuncture treatment prior to visiting our clinic. He had suffered from discomfort in the right lower abdomen without any definite diagnosis for several years. He tried every possible medical treatment, but his

Discussion

The clinical application of acupuncture has been increasing because it seems an effective treatment with low risk.6, 7 However, there is definitely a possibility of complications, including pneumothorax, injury to the central nervous system, infections, and drowsiness.8 Regarding peripheral nerve injuries, only 2 cases have been reported in the literature, both of which were caused by needle breakage.3 A fragment of broken needle caused injury of the median nerve in 1 case,4 and peroneal nerve

Conclusions

This case highlights the possibility of a focal peripheral nerve lesion resulting from acupuncture, possibly caused by herbal medicine coating the needle. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of peripheral nerve injury caused by herbal acupuncture without any unexpected problems such as a broken acupuncture needle.

References (18)

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Supported by a research fund from Dankook University.

No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

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