Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial
Purpose: Ninety percent of patients with advanced cancer have moderate to severe pain, and up to 70% of patients with cancer pain do not receive adequate pain relief. This randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to determine the feasibility and evaluate the effects and safety of intraderma...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Integrative Cancer Therapies |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735418786797 |
| _version_ | 1818826615733354496 |
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| author | Kyungsuk Kim KMD, PhD Sanghun Lee KMD, PhD |
| author_facet | Kyungsuk Kim KMD, PhD Sanghun Lee KMD, PhD |
| author_sort | Kyungsuk Kim KMD, PhD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: Ninety percent of patients with advanced cancer have moderate to severe pain, and up to 70% of patients with cancer pain do not receive adequate pain relief. This randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to determine the feasibility and evaluate the effects and safety of intradermal acupuncture (IA) in patients who were being administered analgesics for cancer pain. Methods: Advanced cancer patients experiencing pain were randomly assigned to IA or sham IA treatment for 3 weeks (15 patients for each group), wherein the CV12, bilateral ST25, LI4, LR3, PC06, and Ashi points were selected and stimulated. Follow-up evaluations were conducted 3 weeks after the end of treatments. The grade and dosage of analgesics for cancer pain, pain intensity, quality of life, and safety were assessed. Results: Twenty-seven patients (90%) completed 6-week trial, and no serious adverse events were associated with either IA or sham IA procedures except the transient side effect such as fatigue. Nine patients in the IA group (64.3%) and 5 in the sham IA group (38.5%) responded to the 3-week intervention. These patients were mostly in the nonopioid and the weak opioid levels of the World Health Organization analgesic ladder. Self-reported pain declined by −1.54 ± 1.45 and −1.15 ± 1.57 in the IA and sham IA groups, respectively, with improved quality of life reported. Conclusions: IA treatment appears feasible and safe for advanced cancer patients. It might reduce analgesic usage in the early World Health Organization analgesic ladder stage cancer patient, though it could not show significant outcome differences due to design limitation of sham IA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:30:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f540d72262fc4162ba94a58c82f5af9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1534-7354 1552-695X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:30:29Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Integrative Cancer Therapies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f540d72262fc4162ba94a58c82f5af9e2022-12-21T20:45:07ZengSAGE PublishingIntegrative Cancer Therapies1534-73541552-695X2018-12-011710.1177/1534735418786797Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled TrialKyungsuk Kim KMD, PhD0Sanghun Lee KMD, PhD1Department of Medical Consilience, Graduate school, Dankook University, Yongin-si, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Medical Consilience, Graduate school, Dankook University, Yongin-si, Republic of KoreaPurpose: Ninety percent of patients with advanced cancer have moderate to severe pain, and up to 70% of patients with cancer pain do not receive adequate pain relief. This randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to determine the feasibility and evaluate the effects and safety of intradermal acupuncture (IA) in patients who were being administered analgesics for cancer pain. Methods: Advanced cancer patients experiencing pain were randomly assigned to IA or sham IA treatment for 3 weeks (15 patients for each group), wherein the CV12, bilateral ST25, LI4, LR3, PC06, and Ashi points were selected and stimulated. Follow-up evaluations were conducted 3 weeks after the end of treatments. The grade and dosage of analgesics for cancer pain, pain intensity, quality of life, and safety were assessed. Results: Twenty-seven patients (90%) completed 6-week trial, and no serious adverse events were associated with either IA or sham IA procedures except the transient side effect such as fatigue. Nine patients in the IA group (64.3%) and 5 in the sham IA group (38.5%) responded to the 3-week intervention. These patients were mostly in the nonopioid and the weak opioid levels of the World Health Organization analgesic ladder. Self-reported pain declined by −1.54 ± 1.45 and −1.15 ± 1.57 in the IA and sham IA groups, respectively, with improved quality of life reported. Conclusions: IA treatment appears feasible and safe for advanced cancer patients. It might reduce analgesic usage in the early World Health Organization analgesic ladder stage cancer patient, though it could not show significant outcome differences due to design limitation of sham IA.https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735418786797 |
| spellingShingle | Kyungsuk Kim KMD, PhD Sanghun Lee KMD, PhD Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial Integrative Cancer Therapies |
| title | Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial |
| title_full | Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial |
| title_fullStr | Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial |
| title_short | Intradermal Acupuncture Along with Analgesics for Pain Control in Advanced Cancer Cases: A Pilot, Randomized, Patient-Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial |
| title_sort | intradermal acupuncture along with analgesics for pain control in advanced cancer cases a pilot randomized patient assessor blinded controlled trial |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735418786797 |
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