• Lin-Peng Wang, Xiao-Zhe Zhang, Jia Guo, Hui-Lin Liu, Yan Zhang, Cun-Zhi Liu, Jing-Hong Yi, Li-Ping Wang, Ji-Ping Zhao, and Shan-Shan Li.
• Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. wlp5558@sina.com
• Pain Med. 2012 May 1; 13 (5): 623-30.

ObjectiveWe aim to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture for acute migraine attacks comparing with sham acupuncture.DesignThe study was designed as a multicenter, single-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial.Setting And PatientsFrom March 2007 to February 2009, 150 patients were randomly allocated to verum or sham acupuncture group in a ratio of 1:1.InterventionsEvery patient received a verum or sham acupuncture treatment when having a migraine attack and, medications were allowed if the pain failed to be relieved two hours after the acupuncture.Outcome MeasuresThe primary outcome was visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain, ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain ever).ResultsThe mean VAS scores 24 hours after treatment decreased from 5.7 ± 1.4 to 3.3 ± 2.5 in the verum acupuncture group, and from 5.4 ± 1.3 to 4.7 ± 2.4 in the sham acupuncture group. Significant differences existed between the two groups (P = 0.001).ConclusionsThis trial suggested that verum acupuncture group was superior to sham acupuncture group on relieving pain and reducing the usage of acute medication.Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

23 keywords...

hide…