Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with ac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2011-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/11/49 |
| _version_ | 1818787482687242240 |
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| author | Li Jie-Jia Axe Eleanor K Elashoff Robert M Subramanian Saskia K Hays Ron D Johnston Michael F Kim Irene Vargas Roberto B Lee Jihey Yang LuGe Hui Ka-Kit |
| author_facet | Li Jie-Jia Axe Eleanor K Elashoff Robert M Subramanian Saskia K Hays Ron D Johnston Michael F Kim Irene Vargas Roberto B Lee Jihey Yang LuGe Hui Ka-Kit |
| author_sort | Li Jie-Jia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of CRF in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast cancer survivors using usual care as control. Social cognitive and integrative medicine theories guided integration of patient education with acupuncture into a coherent treatment protocol. The intervention consisted of two parts. First, patients were taught to improve self-care by optimizing exercise routines, improving nutrition, implementing some additional evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques such as stress management in four weekly 50-minute sessions. Second, patients received eight weekly 50-minute acupuncture sessions. The pre-specified primary outcome, CRF, was assessed with the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). Secondary outcomes included three dimensions of cognitive impairment assessed with the FACT-COGv2.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Due to difficulties in recruitment, we tried several methods that led to the development of a tailored recruitment strategy: we enlisted oncologists into the core research team and recruited patients completing treatment from oncology waiting rooms. Compared to usual care control, the intervention was associated with a 2.38-point decline in fatigue as measured by the BFI (90% Confidence Interval from 0.586 to 5.014; p <0.10). Outcomes associated with cognitive dysfunction were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patient education integrated with acupuncture had a very promising effect that warrants conducting a larger RCT to confirm findings. An effective recruitment strategy will be essential for the successful execution of a larger-scale trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00646633">NCT00646633</a></p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T14:08:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e97116c096994b17a904c8543dc896c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6882 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T14:08:29Z |
| publishDate | 2011-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-e97116c096994b17a904c8543dc896c92022-12-21T21:05:12ZengBMCBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine1472-68822011-06-011114910.1186/1472-6882-11-49Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility studyLi Jie-JiaAxe Eleanor KElashoff Robert MSubramanian Saskia KHays Ron DJohnston Michael FKim IreneVargas Roberto BLee JiheyYang LuGeHui Ka-Kit<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of CRF in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast cancer survivors using usual care as control. Social cognitive and integrative medicine theories guided integration of patient education with acupuncture into a coherent treatment protocol. The intervention consisted of two parts. First, patients were taught to improve self-care by optimizing exercise routines, improving nutrition, implementing some additional evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques such as stress management in four weekly 50-minute sessions. Second, patients received eight weekly 50-minute acupuncture sessions. The pre-specified primary outcome, CRF, was assessed with the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). Secondary outcomes included three dimensions of cognitive impairment assessed with the FACT-COGv2.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Due to difficulties in recruitment, we tried several methods that led to the development of a tailored recruitment strategy: we enlisted oncologists into the core research team and recruited patients completing treatment from oncology waiting rooms. Compared to usual care control, the intervention was associated with a 2.38-point decline in fatigue as measured by the BFI (90% Confidence Interval from 0.586 to 5.014; p <0.10). Outcomes associated with cognitive dysfunction were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patient education integrated with acupuncture had a very promising effect that warrants conducting a larger RCT to confirm findings. An effective recruitment strategy will be essential for the successful execution of a larger-scale trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00646633">NCT00646633</a></p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/11/49 |
| spellingShingle | Li Jie-Jia Axe Eleanor K Elashoff Robert M Subramanian Saskia K Hays Ron D Johnston Michael F Kim Irene Vargas Roberto B Lee Jihey Yang LuGe Hui Ka-Kit Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine |
| title | Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| title_full | Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| title_fullStr | Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| title_short | Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| title_sort | patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/11/49 |
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