• Jian-Feng Tu, Jing-Wen Yang, Li-Qiong Wang, Yang Zheng, Li-Wen Zhang, Yong-Ting Li, Xin Zhang, Guang-Xia Shi, Jun Wang, Jing-Jie Zhao, Yi Du, San-San Chen, Lu Cheng, and Cun-Zhi Liu.
• Acupuncture Research Center, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
• Acupunct Med. 2020 Oct 1; 38 (5): 301-309.

BackgroundEvidence for treating postprandial distress syndrome with acupuncture is limited.AimWe aimed to evaluate the feasibility of verum acupuncture versus sham acupuncture in patients with postprandial distress syndrome.MethodsA total of 42 eligible patients were randomly allocated to either verum acupuncture or sham acupuncture groups in a 1:1 ratio. Each patient received 12 sessions over 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the response rate based on the overall treatment effect (OTE) 4 weeks after randomization. Secondary outcomes included dyspepsia symptom severity and adverse events.ResultsIn each group, 19 patients (91.5%) completed the study. Thirteen patients receiving verum acupuncture and seven patients receiving sham acupuncture were classified as responders according to OTE (61.9% vs 33.3%; rate difference 28.6%; p = 0.06). Dyspepsia symptom severity at the end of treatment also differed significantly between verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups (5.9 units vs 3.7 units; between-group difference 2.2 (95% CI, 0.2-4.2); p = 0.04). No serious adverse events occurred.ConclusionFour weeks of acupuncture may represent a potential treatment for postprandial distress syndrome. The treatment protocol and outcome measures used in this trial were feasible. Since this was a pilot study, the efficacy of acupuncture still needs to be determined by a larger, adequately powered trial.

18 keywords...

hide…