Efficacy of Acupuncture for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria : A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Ann Intern Med
; 176(12): 1617-1624, 2023 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37956431
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), reported in a few small-scale studies, is not convincing.OBJECTIVE:
To investigate whether acupuncture leads to better effects on CSU than sham acupuncture or waitlist control.DESIGN:
A multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial. (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900022994).SETTING:
Three teaching hospitals in China from 27 May 2019 to 30 July 2022.PARTICIPANTS:
330 participants diagnosed with CSU. INTERVENTION Participants were randomly assigned in a 111 ratio to receive acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or waitlist control over an 8-week study period (4 weeks for treatment and another 4 weeks for follow-up). MEASUREMENTS The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline in the Weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7) at week 4. Secondary outcomes included itch severity scores, self-rated improvement, and Dermatology Life Quality Index scores.RESULTS:
The mean change in UAS7 (range, 0 to 42) for acupuncture from baseline (mean score, 23.5 [95% CI, 21.8 to 25.2]) to week 4 (mean score, 15.3 [CI, 13.6 to 16.9]) was -8.2 (CI, -9.9 to -6.6). The mean changes in UAS7 for sham acupuncture and waitlist control from baseline (mean scores, 21.9 [CI, 20.2 to 23.6] and 22.1 [CI, 20.4 to 23.8], respectively) to week 4 (mean scores, 17.8 [CI, 16.1 to 19.5] and 20.0 [CI, 18.3 to 21.6], respectively) were -4.1 (CI, -5.8 to -2.4) and -2.2 (CI, -3.8 to -0.5), respectively. The mean differences between acupuncture and sham acupuncture and waitlist control were -4.1 (CI, -6.5 to -1.8) and -6.1 (CI, -8.4 to -3.7), respectively, which did not meet the threshold for minimal clinically important difference. Fifteen participants (13.6%) in the acupuncture group and none in the other groups reported adverse events. Adverse events were mild or transient.LIMITATION:
Lack of complete blinding, self-reported outcomes, limited generalizability because antihistamine use was disallowed, and short follow-up period.CONCLUSION:
Compared with sham acupuncture and waitlist control, acupuncture produced a greater improvement in UAS7, although the difference from control was not clinically significant. Increased adverse events were mild or transient. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE The National Key R&D Program of China and the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Traditional Medicines:
Medicinas_tradicionales_de_asia
/
Medicina_china
Therapeutic Methods and Therapies TCIM:
Terapias_manuales
Main subject:
Urticaria
/
Acupuncture Therapy
/
Chronic Urticaria
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Ann Intern Med
Year:
2023
Type:
Article