Thumbtack Needle in the Treatment of NVP

NCT ID: NCT06566274

Last Updated: 2026-01-08

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

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

320 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-10-01

Study Completion Date

2028-12-31

Brief Summary

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

This project intends to use multi-center, large-sample, randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trials to observe the clinical efficacy and safety of thumbtack needle (TN) on nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP).

Detailed Description

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

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is the most common and intractable problem in the first trimester and is the second most common presentation during pregnancy. All types of NVP affect the quality of life of pregnant women, and the intensity of influence increases with the frequency of symptoms. Due to the lack of awareness of NVP and the concern about the teratogenicity of drugs to embryos, the treatment of NVP is always insufficient, and the choice of drug regimen is conservative.

Acupuncture using traditional millineedle is effective on NVP, however, it is generally painful when the millineedle is inserted into the body, and the needling sensation of soreness, numbness, swelling and pain during acupuncture is sometimes beyond patient's acceptability, or even produce adverse effects on pregnancy. Moreover, patients may have to visit acupuncturist daily using millineedle, which may causes high financial costs and reduce the medial adherence. Therefore, although acupuncture with millineedle is effective on NVP, its application in clinical practice is still very limited.

As a kind of intradermal needle, thumbtack needle (TN) is a method of shallow puncture and long-term retention needle. Although the amount of stimulation of TN is weaker than that of millineedle, it has a much longer effect and can produce continuous and stable stimulation, and therefore, its cumulative effect is often better than that of traditional millineedle acupuncture. Moreover, due to the tiny needle body of TN (the diameter of the needle body is only 0.15 \~ 0.25mm, and the length of the needle body is only 1.2 \~ 2.5mm), it will not hurt the subcutaneous nerves, blood vessels, viscera and other tissues, which is very comfortable and safe to treat, and overcomes the needle sting pain of traditional millineedles. However, up to now, it is unknown whether TN can produce the same effect as the acupuncture in NVP.

This project is a multi-center, large-sample and blinded RCT designed to collect the highest quality evidence of complete data, including nausea and vomiting, quality of life, anxiety and depression, weight change, blood electrolyte levels, liver and kidney function, thyroid function, intravenous fluid treatment, use of additional drugs, hospital admission, pregnancy complications (gestational diabetes and hypertensive diseases), pregnancy outcomes and neonatal outcomes in women with VNP.

Conditions

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

Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP)

Study Design

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

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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

thumbtack needle (TN) group

The main acupoints of treatment are Zhongwan (CV12), bilateral Neiguan (SP6), and bilateral Zusanli (ST36), with a total of 5 acupoints. patients with Qi stagnation should be added Danzhong (CV17) or Ashi acupoint (the most prominent tender point between CV 17 and CV12), patients with liver and stomach disharmony should be added bilateral BL17, patients with phlegm-dampness obstruction should be added bilateral ST40, and patients with weak spleen and stomach should be added bilateral BL21. The above acupoints are treated with TN. The TN will be reserved in the acupoints for 3 days. During the 3-day retention of TN, the patient presses the TN 3 times a day and half a minute per time per acupoint. After 3 days of retention of TN, the patient is instructed to go to the hospital and receive the next TN treatment. A total of 5 treatments were applied for a duration of 15 days.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

thumbtack needle

Intervention Type DEVICE

As a kind of intradermal needle, thumbtack needle (TN) is a method of shallow puncture and long-term needle.After the TN is attached into the acupoints, it will be reserved in the acupoints for 3 days. After 3 days of retention of TN, the patient is instructed to go to the hospital, where the doctor removes the needle, disinfect the local skin of acupoints and conducts the next TN treatment. A total of 5 treatments were applied for a duration of 15 days.

sham TN group

The acupoints of sham TN group are the same as those of TN group. The use of sham TN was the same as that of the TN group. During the 3-day retention of sham TN, the patients are asked not to press them. After 3 days retention of sham TN, the patient was instructed to go to the hospital, where the doctor removed the sham TN, and conducted the next treatment after local skin disinfection. A total of 5 treatments were given for a duration of 15 days.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

sham thumbtack needle

Intervention Type DEVICE

The sham TN used in the sham TN group has no needle body and its appearance and shape are similar to the real TN. But it does not produce a needle-like effect.

The acupoints of sham TN group are the same as those of TN group. The use of sham TN is the same as that of the TN group. After 3 days retention of sham TN, the patient will be instructed to go to the hospital, where the doctor remove the sham TN, and conduct the next treatment after local skin disinfection. A total of 5 treatments will be applied for a duration of 15 days.

Interventions

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

thumbtack needle

As a kind of intradermal needle, thumbtack needle (TN) is a method of shallow puncture and long-term needle.After the TN is attached into the acupoints, it will be reserved in the acupoints for 3 days. After 3 days of retention of TN, the patient is instructed to go to the hospital, where the doctor removes the needle, disinfect the local skin of acupoints and conducts the next TN treatment. A total of 5 treatments were applied for a duration of 15 days.

Intervention Type DEVICE

sham thumbtack needle

The sham TN used in the sham TN group has no needle body and its appearance and shape are similar to the real TN. But it does not produce a needle-like effect.

The acupoints of sham TN group are the same as those of TN group. The use of sham TN is the same as that of the TN group. After 3 days retention of sham TN, the patient will be instructed to go to the hospital, where the doctor remove the sham TN, and conduct the next treatment after local skin disinfection. A total of 5 treatments will be applied for a duration of 15 days.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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

Inclusion Criteria

* The mother\'s age is 20 \~ 45 years old, the gestational age is 6 \~ 12 weeks, and the ultrasound confirms that it is an intrauterine single or multiple pregnancy, and the weight loss is less than 10% compared with before pregnancy.
* Women diagnosed with moderate to severe NVP in the first trimester: the severity of NVP was determined by the PUQE score (see Table 1), and the PUQE score ranged from 3 \~ 15, \< 6 was mild NVP, 6 \~ 12 was moderate NVP, and ≥13 was severe NVP. PUQE score ≥ 6 may be included in this study.
* Women voluntarily sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria

* Age \>20 years, and \<45 years.
* Gestational \> 6 weeks, or \<12 weeks.
* PUQE score \<6.
* frequent nausea and vomiting, weight loss of \>10% compared with before pregnancy; or symptoms such as listlessness, paleness, dry skin, sunken eye sockets, and a marked decrease in urine output (less than 400ml of urine in 24 hours or less than 5 times and a small amount of urine in 24 hours).
* At rest, body temperature \> 38°C, systolic blood pressure \< 90 mmHg or \> 140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure \< 60 mmHg or \> 90 mmHg, heart rate ≥ 100 beats per minute, or oxygen saturation \< 95%.
* Urinalysis: urine ketones: +++ and above; or (and) urine protein: ++ and above.
* Blood biochemistry: serum potassium≤3.0mmol/L, serum sodium≤130mmol/L; or abnormal liver function: elevated liver enzymes ≥ 2 times the upper limit of normal; or renal dysfunction: elevated serum creatinine and urea nitrogen.
* Other digestive diseases that cause nausea and vomiting, such as gastrointestinal infections (with diarrhea), gastric ulcers (with epigastric pain or hematemesis), cholecystitis, biliary roundworms, pancreatitis (with abdominal pain, plasma amylase levels rise to 5 \~ 10 times normal), viral hepatitis (positive hepatitis virology, liver enzyme levels ≥ 1 000 U/L) or acute fatty liver during pregnancy, tumors of the digestive tract.
* Suffering from immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, IgG4-related diseases, immune nephropathy, etc.
* Have uncorrected diseases of the endocrine system, such as diabetes, Addison's disease, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroid tumors, adrenal tumors, etc.
* Suffering from neurological diseases such as migraine, neuromyelitis optica, epilepsy, neurologic tumors, etc.
* In the past 1 week, have taken antiemetic drugs such as ondansetron, metoclopramide (metoclopramide), promethazine, anti-vomiting Chinese medicine, etc.
* Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are used.
* Have received TN treatment in recent 3 months.
* Unwilling to sign the informed consent of this study.
Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

45 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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

Dongmei Huang

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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

Dongmei Huang

associate professor

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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

Dongmei Huang, Doctor

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Locations

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

Jingzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Jingzhou, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Nanzhang County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital

Nanzhang Chengguanzhen, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Qianjiang Central Hospital

Qianjiang, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Qianjiang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital

Qianjiang, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Shiyan People's Hospital

Shiyan, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Suizhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital

Suizhou, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Wuhan Jinxin Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital of Integrative Medicine

Wuhan, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Wuhan, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Xiangyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Xiangyang, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Xiangyang Central Hospital

Xiangyang, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Xiaogan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital

Xiaogan, Hubei, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Dongchangfu District Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Liaocheng City

Liaocheng, Shandong, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Aksu Prefecture Maternal and Child Health Hospital

Aksu, Xinjiang, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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

China

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Dongmei Huang, Doctor

Role: CONTACT

86 13971578190 ext. 86 27 83663237

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Dr. Xu

Role: primary

86 18972363268

Dr. Zhang

Role: primary

86-13871606542

Dr. She

Role: primary

86 15871905339

Dr. Yuan

Role: primary

86 13597428085

Dr. Zhang

Role: primary

86 18671988831

Dr. Bao

Role: primary

86-18607225753

Dr. Liu

Role: primary

86 13343452501

Dr. Huang

Role: primary

86 027-83663275

Dr. Yang

Role: primary

86 15335897469

Dr. Zhao

Role: primary

86-15172682096

Dr. Nie

Role: primary

86 13669020358

Dr. Xi

Role: primary

86-15206356510

Dr. Fan

Role: primary

86-18935844102

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

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

TN-NVP

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

A Study of TAK-951 in Healthy Adults
NCT04486950 COMPLETED PHASE1
A Study of TAK-105 in Healthy Adults
NCT04964258 COMPLETED PHASE1