Influence of organic and functional dyspepsia on work productivity: the HEROES-DIP study

Acupuncture for patients with functional dyspepsia: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Whether acupuncture is efficacious for patients with functional dyspepsia is still controversial. So we designed a randomised controlled trial to settle the problem.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We designed a multicentre, two-arm, sham-controlled clinical trial. 200 participants with functional dyspepsia will be randomly assigned to the true acupuncture (TA) group and sham acupuncture (SA) group in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the TA group will receive acupuncture at points selected according to syndrome differentiation. Participants in the sham acupuncture group will receive penetrations at sham points. Participants in both groups will receive 20 sessions of electroacupuncture in 4 weeks, five times continuously with a 2 day rest in a week. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients reporting the absence of dyspeptic symptoms at 16 weeks after inclusion. The secondary outcome includes a Short-Form Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the 36-Item Short Form Survey, the Chinese version of the Nepean dyspepsia index, etc.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study protocol has been approved by the institutional review boards and ethics committees of the first affiliated hospital of Chengdu University of TCM, the first affiliated hospital of Hunan University of TCM and Chongqing Medical University, respectively (from April to August 2012). The results of this trial will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at international congresses.

TRIALS REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01671670.

Modified chaihu shugan powder for functional dyspepsia: meta-analysis for randomized controlled trial

Context. Modified Chaihu Shugan powder (MCSP) is a popular traditional Chinese herbal formula for functional dyspepsia, which is revised from Chaihu Shugan San and recorded in a medical classic works of China. However, its role and effect in treating functional dyspepsia have not been well established. Objective. To assess the effect and safety of modified Chaihu Shugan powder for functional dyspepsia. Methods. We searched the published and unpublished studies up to August 2012. Only RCTs of modified Chaihu Shugan powder with or without prokinetic drugs versus prokinetic drugs in the patients diagnosed with functional dyspepsia were included. Results. Twenty-two clinical trials involving 1998 participants were included. There were evidences that modified Chaihu Shugan powder (RR = 1.20, 95%, CI 1.14 to 1.27) and modified Chaihu Shugan powder plus prokinetic drugs (RR = 1.18, 95%, CI 1.11 to 1.25) were significantly better treatment options than prokinetic drugs alone in improving symptoms. No serious adverse events were described in the included trials. Conclusions. This meta-analysis showed that modified Chaihu Shugan powder alone or in combination with prokinetic drugs might be more effective than prokinetic drugs alone. However, with poor methodological quality, all the included trials were at high risk of bias. Further large-scale high-quality trials are required for assessment.