Combined Scalp and Ear Acupuncture in Patients With Proton Pump Inhibitor- Dependent Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

NCT ID: NCT04660019

Last Updated: 2024-06-26

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

NA

Total Enrollment

48 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-08-10

Study Completion Date

2022-05-10

Brief Summary

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According to the statistics of the National Health Insurance Administration Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of patients about gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has increased from 610,000 to over 760,000 in the past three years (2016-2018). Western medicine mainly uses proton pump inhibitors (PPI) to improve symptoms. For patients who are ineffective in drug treatment, it will be treated by surgical treatment (Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication, endoluminal gastroplication).

Detailed Description

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According to the statistics of the National Health Insurance Administration Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of patients about gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has increased from 610,000 to over 760,000 in the past three years (2016-2018). Western medicine mainly uses proton pump inhibitors (PPI) to improve symptoms. For patients who are ineffective in drug treatment, it will be treated by surgical treatment (Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication, endoluminal gastroplication).

However, it is easy to cause problems such as difficulty swallowing or recurrence postoperatively. In recent years, more and more integrated treatment studies of Chinese and Western medicine have found that acupuncture can improve GERD and can provide patients with another non-surgical treatment. Traditional acupuncture is mainly based on distinguishing diseases (mainly according to Western medicine disease diagnosis, to perform acupoint selection.), dialectics and verification (based on clinical experience, some stimulation areas with outstanding effects on certain symptoms are selected for acupuncture). Acupuncture treatment for GERD primarily utilizes body acupuncture, while scalp and auricular acupuncture for GERD treatment remain scarcely discussed.

This research plan intends to use scalp and auricular acupuncture on recurrent, PPI-dependent GERD and further explore what is the mechanism of acupuncture to improve the symptoms in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux. We hypothesized that scalp and auricular acupuncture will reduce scores of reflux disease questionnaire and PPI use compared to placebo treatment with seed acupressure (SAP). If this mechanism can be clarified, it will reduce the patient's overuse of drugs and the cost of surgery in the future, which will be a big boon for Taiwanese health and finances of health insurance.

Conditions

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Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Neurology

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Scalp and auricular acupuncture

Three scalp acupoints including GV 20, bilateral GB 15, stomach area and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Scalp and auricular acupuncture

Intervention Type OTHER

Three scalp acupoints including Baihui (GV 20), bilateral Toulinqi (GB 15, stomach area) and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach). The study duration was 2 weeks with four sessions of scalp and auricular acupuncture treatment on day 1, 5, 9 and 14.

Seed acupressure

Three scalp acupoints including GV 20, bilateral GB 15, stomach area and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach).

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Seed acupressure

Intervention Type OTHER

Three scalp acupoints including Baihui (GV 20), bilateral Toulinqi (GB 15, stomach area) and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach). The study duration was 2 weeks with four sessions of seed acupressure treatment on day 1, 5, 9 and 14.

Interventions

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Scalp and auricular acupuncture

Three scalp acupoints including Baihui (GV 20), bilateral Toulinqi (GB 15, stomach area) and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach). The study duration was 2 weeks with four sessions of scalp and auricular acupuncture treatment on day 1, 5, 9 and 14.

Intervention Type OTHER

Seed acupressure

Three scalp acupoints including Baihui (GV 20), bilateral Toulinqi (GB 15, stomach area) and four ear acupoints (Shenmen, thalamus, cardia, stomach). The study duration was 2 weeks with four sessions of seed acupressure treatment on day 1, 5, 9 and 14.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients with mild reflux esophagitis (Los Angeles grades A or B) diagnosed by endoscopy received a 4-month standard-dose PPI therapy and reported the symptoms were improved during the treatment.
* After discontinuing PPI, patients experienced rebound symptoms but quickly found relief upon resuming PPI.

Exclusion Criteria

* Cannot sign consent form
* Women who are ready to become pregnant or are pregnant.
* Have a history of fainting during acupuncture treatment.
* Those using anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents.
Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Ming-Shun Wu, PHD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital

Locations

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Wanfang Hospital

Taipei, Wenshan District, Taiwan

Site Status

Countries

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Taiwan

References

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Meining A, Classen M. The role of diet and lifestyle measures in the pathogenesis and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000 Oct;95(10):2692-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2000.03175.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11051337 (View on PubMed)

Scarpellini E, Ang D, Pauwels A, De Santis A, Vanuytsel T, Tack J. Management of refractory typical GERD symptoms. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016 May;13(5):281-94. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2016.50. Epub 2016 Apr 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27075264 (View on PubMed)

Gao DX, Bai XH. [Clinical trial of acupuncture treatment of gastroesophageal reflux cough by needling dorsal segment of the Governor Vessel]. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2019 Feb 25;44(2):140-3. doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.170761. Chinese.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30945492 (View on PubMed)

Sutor AH, Jesdinsky-Buscher C. [Changes in hemostasis during epilespy treatment using dipropyl acetate. Extended study]. Fortschr Med. 1976 Mar 11;94(8):411-4. German.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 786839 (View on PubMed)

Wolfe JM, Owens DA. Evidence for separable binocular processes differentially affected by artificially induced anisometropia. Am J Optom Physiol Opt. 1979 May;56(5):279-84. doi: 10.1097/00006324-197905000-00001.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 495684 (View on PubMed)

Mishina Y, Snider TN. Neural crest cell signaling pathways critical to cranial bone development and pathology. Exp Cell Res. 2014 Jul 15;325(2):138-47. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2014.01.019. Epub 2014 Feb 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24509233 (View on PubMed)

Herisson F, Frodermann V, Courties G, Rohde D, Sun Y, Vandoorne K, Wojtkiewicz GR, Masson GS, Vinegoni C, Kim J, Kim DE, Weissleder R, Swirski FK, Moskowitz MA, Nahrendorf M. Direct vascular channels connect skull bone marrow and the brain surface enabling myeloid cell migration. Nat Neurosci. 2018 Sep;21(9):1209-1217. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0213-2. Epub 2018 Aug 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30150661 (View on PubMed)

Shaw M, Dent J, Beebe T, Junghard O, Wiklund I, Lind T, Johnsson F. The Reflux Disease Questionnaire: a measure for assessment of treatment response in clinical trials. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2008 Apr 30;6:31. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-6-31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18447946 (View on PubMed)

Zanella AK, Gutierres JM, Stigger F. Effects of Scalp Acupuncture on Functional Deficits Induced by Early Sensorimotor Restriction. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2019 Jun;12(3):77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2019.03.002. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31028972 (View on PubMed)

Kattalai Kailasam V, Anand P, Melyan Z. Establishing an animal model for National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) auricular acupuncture protocol. Neurosci Lett. 2016 Jun 15;624:29-33. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.05.001. Epub 2016 May 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27155456 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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N202004031

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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