Abstract
Background : Acupuncture has been considered as a complementary or alternative therapy for children with tic disorders (TD), but its efficacy remains largely unknown. This study retrospectively examined the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for TD in children over the course of 12 weeks.Methods: Data were collected from Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics in a public pediatric hospital in Shanghai between June 2020 and March 2021. A total of 250 patients with TD were included in the study, with 122 patients exposed to acupuncture therapy combined with conventional treatment (observation group), and 128 patients exposed to conventional treatment alone (control group). Propensity score matching analyses were used to balance baseline characteristics, resulting in 78 matched patients for each group. Reductions in the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) total score were analyzed in the two groups after 12 weeks of treatment.Results: The two groups reached equilibrium in terms of baseline demographic characteristics and YGTSS total score after the propensity score matching (P > 0.05). Compared to the control group, the reduction in the YGTSS total score after 12 weeks of treatment was greater for the observation group (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.03, 8.39, P = 0.04), and this association was stronger for patients who had significant vocal tics (β = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.88, 2.68, P = 0.001). The clinical efficacy for the observation group was significantly better than the control group.Conclusions: We provided preliminary evidence supporting the therapeutic effect of acupuncture for TD in children. Hence, our findings indicate that acupuncture could be an adjuvant treatment efficacious for TD in children, especially for vocal tics.
Highlights
Tic disorders (TD) are neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by the presence of involuntary contractions of muscle groups that result in motor movements or verbal utterances and sounds
The current study presented a preliminary examination of the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for children with TD in real clinical settings, using a propensity score-matched analysis
We observed that acupuncture treatment had additional beneficial effect in alleviating TD symptoms in children when combined with conventional treatment, especially for vocal tics
Summary
Tic disorders (TD) are neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by the presence of involuntary contractions of muscle groups that result in motor movements or verbal utterances and sounds. Scarce evidence endorses the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of tic disorders [5]. Pharmaceutical treatments such as Aripiprazole and other dopamine receptor blockers often induce side effects, including sedation, somnolence, increased appetite, and often have limited acceptance and compliance [6]. It is critical to develop complementary or alternative therapy, and determine the efficacy in favor of better and more comprehensive treatment for children with TD. Acupuncture has been considered as a complementary or alternative therapy for children with tic disorders (TD), but its efficacy remains largely unknown. This study retrospectively examined the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for TD in children over the course of 12 weeks
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