Abstract
BackgroundAlthough asthma symptoms can be temporarily controlled, it is recommended to use effective low-risk, non-drug strategies to constitute a significant advance in asthma management. Acupuncture has been traditionally used to treat asthma; however, the evidence for the efficacy of this treatment is still lacking. Previous clinical trials of acupuncture in treating asthma were limited by methodological defects; therefore, high-quality research is required.Methods/DesignThis trial is designed as a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group controlled trial. Patients with mild to moderate asthma will be randomly allocated to either a verum acupuncture plus as-needed salbutamol aerosol and/or prednisone tablets group or a sham acupuncture plus as-needed salbutamol aerosol and/or prednisone tablets group. Acupoints used in the verum acupuncture group are GV14 (Da Zhui), BL12 (Feng Men), BL13 (Fei Shu) and acupoints used in the sham acupuncture group are DU08 (Jin Suo), BL18 (Gan Shu), BL19 (Dan Shu). After a baseline period of 1 week, the patients in both groups will receive verum/sham acupuncture once every other day with a total of 20 treatment sessions in 6 weeks and a 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome will be measured by using the asthma control test and the secondary outcomes will be measured by using the percentage of symptom-free days, the average dosage of salbutamol aerosol and/or prednisone tablets, lung functions, daily asthma symptom scores, asthma quality of life questionnaire, and so on.DiscussionThis trial will assess the effect of acupuncture on asthma and aims to provide reliable clinical evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in treating asthma.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01931696, registered on 26 August 2013
Highlights
Asthma symptoms can be temporarily controlled, it is recommended to use effective low-risk, non-drug strategies to constitute a significant advance in asthma management
This trial will assess the effect of acupuncture on asthma and aims to provide reliable clinical evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in treating asthma
Setting This randomized clinical trials (RCT) will be conducted at 12 clinical centers in China: Outpatient Department of Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Long Hua Hospital, Shu Guang Hospital, Shanghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai First People’s Hospital, Dachang Hospital, Xiang Ya Hospital, No 3 Hospital Affiliated to Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kaifeng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Summary
Asthma symptoms can be temporarily controlled, it is recommended to use effective low-risk, non-drug strategies to constitute a significant advance in asthma management. Acupuncture has been traditionally used to treat asthma; the evidence for the efficacy of this treatment is still lacking. Previous clinical trials of acupuncture in treating asthma were limited by methodological defects; high-quality research is required. Bronchodilators are predominant medications to treat asthma [8], but controversy exists about the risks and benefits in the application of bronchodilator drugs, such as long-acting beta-agonists [9, 10]. Regarding the potential side effects of the long-term use of conventional drugs, an effective, low-risk, and nondrug strategy would provide a valuable and adjunctive treatment in asthma management [11]
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