Systemic Analgesic Effects of Electroacupuncture in Healthy Individuals: Thermal Threshhold, Acupuncture Sensation Intensity and De-qi on Quantitative Sensory Test.

Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) has been known to exert analgesic effects according to several reports, but studies investigating the analgesic effect of EA using the quantitative sensory test (QST) are rare. Primary Study Objective: To investigate the analgesic effects of electroacupuncture through changes in thermal thresholds measured using the QST. Design: Pilot, randomized, single-blind, parallel design. Setting: The study was conducted at Dongguk University Bundang Oriental Hospital (DUBOH) in South Korea. Participants: We included 40 healthy participants age 20 to 40 years. Intervention: The EA group received EA for 30 minutes at 6 acupuncture points (LI4, PC6, LI10, LI11, ST36, and SP6) and the control group just rested. Outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was 4 thermal thresholds including warm detection (WDT), cold detection (CDT), hot pain (HPT), and cold pain (CPT) measured using QST at baseline and after 15, 30 and 60 minutes. The secondary outcomes were the intensity of acupuncture sensation (visual analogue scale [VAS]) and De-qi (Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale [MASS]). Results: The EA group showed significant changes in HPT (P < .001) and CPT (P = .049) compared with the control group, whereas WDT and CDT did not significantly differ. Furthermore, the changes in thermal thresholds were more pronounced in the higher intensity acupuncture sensation group (VAS ≥40) than in the lower intensity group (VAS < 40), although not significantly. The high De-qi group presented greater changes in WDT, CDT, HPT and CPT than the low De-qi group, as measured using MASS. It was especially statistically significant at HPT a feeling of "heaviness" and "dull pain" and at CDT of "tingling." We observed no adverse events related to the study. Conclusion: The change in thermal pain thresholds effected by EA supports the analgesic effect of EA reported in previous studies. The underlying mechanisms need to be holistically considered, and further studies are needed for definitive evidence.

Efficacy and safety evaluation of adjuvant auricular acupuncture for smoking cessation: A study protocol of randomized, assessor-blinded, pragmatic pilot trial.

BACKGROUND: Smoking negatively impacts public health. There are several treatments to quit smoking, and nicotine replacement treatment (NRT) reportedly doubles the smoking cessation rate, with some limitations. Acupuncture is an alternative option with proven effects on smoking cessation. However, there has been no definite report that indicates the efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) combined with NRT on smoking cessation. METHODS: This is a randomized, assessor-blind, and pragmatic pilot study. We will recruit 40 participants who want to stop smoking and randomly allocate them into an NRT group and an NRT + AA group with a 1:1 ratio. Participants will receive NRT for 4 weeks and the NRT + AA group will receive additional AA treatment with 5 AA points (Shenmen (TF4), lung (CO14), throat (TF3), inner nose (TG4), and endocrine (CO18)) twice a week for 4 weeks. Follow-up will be conducted 1 and 3 months after intervention completion. The primary outcome will be tobacco consumption and abstinence rate determined by calculating the rate of change in cigarette use and a urine test. Secondary outcomes will be the quality of life (EuroQol-5D and visual analogue scale), nicotine dependence (Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence), nicotine withdrawal (Minnesota nicotine withdrawal scale), physical effects, satisfaction, and safety measurement (adverse events). RESULTS: We will investigate the efficacy and safety of AA combined with NRT treatment for smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: Our study will provide additional clinical evidence for AA as an adjuvant treatment for smoking cessation. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinical Research Information Service (registration number: KCT0007212).

The effectiveness and safety of Wu tou decoction on rheumatoid arthritis: A protocol for systematic review and/or meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the common inflammatory diseases with arthritis due to a malfunction of the immune system. The treatments for RA include surgery, physiotherapy, occupational therapies, and medication. The representative treatment is medication and its usage has improved through several guidelines. However, it has some limitations and occurs adverse effects. Meanwhile, traditional Chinese medicine treatments have been used for RA treatment and Wu tou decoction (WTD) is one of them. Regardless of recent studies about WTD's efficacy on RA, there has been no systematic review on this issue. Therefore, this review will focus on the effectiveness and safety of WTD on RA. METHODS: The search for randomized controlled trial about WTD on RA will be performed using multiple electronic databases, manual searches, and the author's e-mail if necessary. According to predefined criteria, randomized controlled trials will be selected and summarization will be performed by the data on study participants, result measurements, interventions, adverse events, and risk of bias. Disease activity score including effective rate, swollen joint count, tender joint count, morning stiffness will be primary outcome measures while blood test about RA including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factors, and adverse events will be secondary outcome measures. We will perform meta-analysis by using Review Manager software, assess the risk of bias by Cochrane Collaboration "risk of bias" tool, and determine the quality of evidence by Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation. RESULTS: This study we will investigate the clinical evidence of the effectiveness and safety of WTD on RA. CONCLUSION: For the RA patients and clinicians, our study will be informative. It can be also a great help for the researchers and policy makers who concentrates on conservative management for RA. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY; INPLASY202220099.