Interaction Between Patient and Healthcare Provider: Response to Acupuncture in Knee Osteoarthritis

NCT ID: NCT00059345

Last Updated: 2013-11-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

639 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2002-09-30

Study Completion Date

2006-08-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Interactions between patients and healthcare providers may have a significant impact on a patient's response to therapy. In this study, patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee will receive either acupuncture or sham acupuncture. The acupuncturists will be trained to interact with the patients in specific ways. The study will evaluate those interactions.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

This study will examine placebo responses in the context of practitioner-patient interactions at the time of the encounter. Phase 1 of this study identified patient-related determinants of placebo response, such as beliefs and expectations toward treatment of knee OA with acupuncture. Phase 2 of the study evaluated an assessment tool to measure these determinants. Phase 3 of the study is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether placebo effects in patients with knee OA can be enhanced by the acupuncturists' communicative style, which can affect a patient's cognitive expectancies and beliefs.

Patients will initially be randomized to one of two groups, each with a different model for practitioner-patient interaction. Acupuncture practitioners will be trained to follow semi-structured communicative styles, including traditional approaches in Chinese medicine and techniques previously described in patient-doctor communications studies. Within each of these groups, patients will be further randomized to receive either acupuncture or sham acupuncture. Patients will have 6 weeks of biweekly treatment visits. Patients will be followed for 6 months. Visits will be weekly during the first 6 weeks of the study and monthly thereafter.

The study will also include a natural cohort group composed of patients on a study waiting list; these patients will be offered acupuncture 3 months after study entry.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Osteoarthritis

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

Acupuncture Arthritis

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Arm 1: Acupuncture

Participants will receive acupuncture

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Acupuncture

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Electroacupuncture treatments provided two times per week for 6 weeks

Arm 2: Shallow needling

Participants will receive shallow needling on non-mederian points

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo acupuncture

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Placebo acupuncture treatments provided 2 times per week for 6 weeks

Arm 3: No Acupuncture or Placebo Treatment

Participants will receive usual care, no acupuncture or placebo acupuncture treatment.

Group Type OTHER

Usual Care

Intervention Type OTHER

Usual care for knee osteoarthritis

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Acupuncture

Electroacupuncture treatments provided two times per week for 6 weeks

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Placebo acupuncture

Placebo acupuncture treatments provided 2 times per week for 6 weeks

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Usual Care

Usual care for knee osteoarthritis

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Electroacupuncture TENS Sham acupuncture

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* OA diagnosis according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria
* Pain in the knee of at least 3 or more on a 0 to 10 scale (0 none, 10 extreme pain) within 2 weeks prior to study entry
* Stable treatment with anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications during the month prior to study entry
* If receiving glucosamine, stable dosage for 2 months prior to study entry
* Adequate cognitive status as determined by the study officials
* Living in the community
* Ability to communicate in English without a translator
* Access to a telephone

Exclusion Criteria

* Other diagnosed joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis
* Previous treatment with acupuncture (for any condition)
* Intra-articular injections in the knee in the 2 months prior to study entry
Minimum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Maria E. Suarez-Almazor, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Suarez-Almazor ME, Looney C, Liu Y, Cox V, Pietz K, Marcus DM, Street RL Jr. A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee: effects of patient-provider communication. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2010 Sep;62(9):1229-36. doi: 10.1002/acr.20225.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 20506122 (View on PubMed)

Street RL Jr, Cox V, Kallen MA, Suarez-Almazor ME. Exploring communication pathways to better health: clinician communication of expectations for acupuncture effectiveness. Patient Educ Couns. 2012 Nov;89(2):245-51. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2012.06.032. Epub 2012 Jul 31.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 22857778 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

Access external resources that provide additional context or updates about the study.

http://www.mdanderson.org

University of Texas (UT) MD Anderson Cancer Center Official Website

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

R01AR049999

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NIAMS-087

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2006-0605

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

R01AR049999

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

View Link