Acupuncture for Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Injury: an Exploratory/Developmental Study

NCT ID: NCT00432289

Last Updated: 2010-06-11

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

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE1/PHASE2

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2006-11-30

Study Completion Date

2009-06-30

Brief Summary

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Specific Aim: to implement and evaluate a research protocol for demonstrating the efficacy of Acupuncture Therapy to improve neurological recovery after incomplete SCI compared to a control protocol.

Hypothesis: acupuncture treatment results in greater neurological recovery than a control treatment after an incomplete SCI.

Before conducting a larger, more definitive study, this exploratory and developmental work is focused on assessing whether blinding is possible, reproducibility of the outcome measure, determine enrollment rates and effect sizes and identify clinical resources needed to conduct a larger study.

Detailed Description

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The research design for this exploratory/developmental R21 application will be the same as the anticipated design for a future definitive R01 investigation. A randomized controlled treatment study will be used to compare neurological recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in individuals receiving an acupuncture protocol designed to maximize treatment effectiveness (treatment protocol) with an alternative acupuncture protocol designed to minimize treatment effectiveness (control). The two acupuncture protocols will be identical except for 1) needle placement, 2) use of sham, non-penetrating needles and 3) use of electricity for needle stimulation. The two protocols are designed to be indistinguishable to an individual, so participants will remain blind to whether they are receiving the treatment or the control protocol.

Specific Aim: to implement and evaluate a research protocol for demonstrating the efficacy of Acupuncture Therapy to improve neurological recovery after incomplete SCI compared to a control protocol.

Hypothesis: acupuncture treatment results in greater neurological recovery than a control treatment after an incomplete SCI.

Before proposing a definitive R01 investigation to test this hypothesis, several preliminary steps are required and will be addressed in this feasibility study. Five objectives have been identified for the current R21 application as follows.

Objective 1 - Demonstrate that participants are unable to distinguish between treatment and control protocols, assuring participant blinding.

Objective 2 - Verify the inter-rater reliability of the primary outcome measures -the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor and sensory scores as defined by the ASIA Standards for Neurological Classification of SCI.1

Objective 3 - Collect pilot data for use in power analysis to determine the desired sample size in the definitive R01 investigation, including effect sizes, enrollment and dropout rates.

Objective 4 - Identify any unanticipated difficulties in implementing the treatment and control protocols and identify the clinical resources needed to conduct an R01 investigation.

Objective 5 - Prepare an application for an R01 definitive investigation including an operations manual for the protocol.

Conditions

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Spinal Cord Injury

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Interventions

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Acupuncture

Acupunture treatment 3x per week for 6 weeks.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Incomplete spinal cord injury - ASIA grade B or C.
2. Age 16 years or older.
3. Must be admitted to Craig and enrolled in the study within 6 weeks of injury.
4. Patient must be able to tolerate lying on side for 30 minutes.
5. The expected length of stay will allow completion of the six-week study protocol.
6. Must agree to forego any acupuncture treatment other than the treatments prescribed in this protocol during the six week study period.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Current involvement in any other clinical research trial
2. Concomitant treatment with anticoagulation medication (does not include those on prophylactic doses for deep venous thrombosis)
3. Any disease, concomitant injury, condition or treatment that interferes with the performance or interpretation of the neurological examinations.
4. Acupuncture sites obstructed by immobilization devices, where removal would be medically contraindicated.
5. Individuals with cardiac pacemakers.
6. Individual has a condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, precludes successful participation in the study.
Minimum Eligible Age

16 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Craig Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Craig Hospital

Principal Investigators

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Amit Jha, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Craig Hospital

Locations

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Craig Hospital

Englewood, Colorado, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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R21AT002763

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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