Clinical trials comparing acupuncture with biomedical standard care: a criteria-based evaluation of research design and reporting

Does Prior Acupuncture Exposure Affect Perception of Blinded Real Or Sham Acupuncture?

Objective

To determine if acupuncture-exposed and naïve participants differ in their perceptions of real and sham acupuncture under blinded conditions.

Methods

The setting was an outpatient clinic at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Participants were between the ages of 18 and 90 years. Acupuncture-exposed participants had at least five prior acupuncture treatments, with one treatment in the month prior to the study date. Acupuncture-naïve participants had experienced no prior acupuncture treatments. Participants with dementia, cognitive impairment, or neuropathy were excluded. In total, 61 acupuncture-exposed and 59 acupuncture-naïve participants were blindfolded and received either real acupuncture or toothpick sham acupuncture treatment. Following treatment, participants completed a questionnaire rating the realness of the acupuncture and were asked how they made this determination. We used a previously developed scale rating treatments from 1 (definitely real needle) to 5 (definitely imitation needle) to assess outcome.

Results

Perceptions of the real treatment were rated as more real than sham treatments for all participants. Further analysis revealed that prior acupuncture exposure did not influence ratings of real treatments, but exposed participants rated sham treatments as significantly less real than naïve participants.

Conclusions

Acupuncture-naïve and exposed participants both reported different perceptions of real and sham acupuncture using a blindfolded toothpick protocol. This suggests that future trials should carefully monitor participant perceptions of treatments received, even for naïve individuals. Differences between groups further suggest that participants with significant and/or recent exposure to real acupuncture may introduce bias to blinded clinical acupuncture trials.

A background to acupuncture and its use in chronic painful musculoskeletal conditions

This article gives a brief description of the origins of acupuncture and describes some of the underlying philosophy behind this treatment and attempts to place it in context of the traditional Chinese medicine genre within which acupuncture is set. The article then explains the difference between traditional and Western style acupuncture and explains how point selection is made. The use of acupuncture is steadily increasing for a variety of reasons, it is a very safe intervention particularly when compared to conventional treatment and its lack of serious side effects might in part account for some of its popularity. The science behind acupuncture is also explored in terms of its underlying mechanisms and includes pain gate, endogenous opioids, diffuse noxious inhibitory control, serotonin and bioelectricity as possible explanations. The efficacy of acupuncture for a range of chronic musculoskeletal conditions is then explored and it is concluded that acupuncture has a place in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain and in particular osteo-arthritis (OA). Where degenerative conditions are involved, acupuncture clearly cannot provide a ‘cure’ but can provide symptomatic relief, often over a prolonged period.

Acupuncture for Symptomatic Treatment of Fatigue in Parkinson's Disease: Trial Design and Implementation

Background: Acupuncture use is increasing worldwide for many conditions, including movement disorders. Clinical research in acupuncture has also increased to test anecdotal reports of clinical benefits empirically and investigate potential mechanisms. Method: This article describes considerations for designing a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of acupuncture for fatigue in Parkinson's disease (PD) and describes the current authors' experience in the implementation and early conduct of this trial. Relevant literature is also reviewed to provide guidance for other researchers seeking to perform clinical research relevant to PD and related disorders. Results: Trial design should be driven by a well-defined research question and sufficient detail to meet Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture criteria when a trial is complete. Important items for review include: randomization and blinding; recruitment and participant selection; sham methodology choice; staff training; and practical implementation of study procedures. Sample forms used for the current authors' trial are shared. Conclusions: High-quality clinical trials of acupuncture can provide valuable information for clinicians, patients, and policymakers. Acupuncture trials differ in critical ways from pharmaceutical trials and might require additional considerations regarding design and implementation. Adequate preparation for the unique challenges of acupuncture studies can improve trial implementation, design, efficiency, and impact.

Research scholars program: a faculty development initiative at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine

BACKGROUND

The Research Scholars Program (RSP) was created at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) to provide faculty development in research literacy, research-informed clinical practice, and research participation skills. The RSP is part of a broad effort, funded by a National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine R25 education grant, to infuse an evidence-based perspective into the curriculum at schools of complementary and alternative medicine. The RSP arose from the realization that this curriculum reform would first necessitate faculty training in both research appreciation and pedagogy. OCOM's grant, Acupuncture Practitioner Research Education Enhancement, is a partnership with the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing (OHSU SON).

DESIGN

The RSP was developed initially as a collaborative effort among the OCOM Dean of Research (R.H.), OCOM Director of Research Education (S.F.), and an OHSU SON education specialist (K.L.). The 9-month, 8 hours per month seminar-style RSP provides the opportunity for a cohort of OCOM faculty and staff to explore research-related concepts and content as well as pedagogical practices that emphasize interactive, learner-centered teaching. The RSP adheres to a competency-based approach as developed by the Education Committee of the grant. As a tangible outcome, each Research Scholar designs a sustainable learning activity that infuses a research perspective into their courses, clinic supervision, or other sphere of influence at the college. In this paper, we describe the creative process and the lessons learned during the planning and initial implementation of the RSP.

CONCLUSIONS

We view the early successes of the RSP as encouraging signs that research literacy and an evidence-based perspective are becoming increasingly accepted as needed skill sets for present-day practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Methodological concerns when designing trials for the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of pain

The aim of all clinical research must surely be to assess an intervention or process or relationship between variables, ultimately in order to be able to improve clinical practice and healthcare for patients/consumers. As such, evidence gathered must have external validity (generalisability) and it must be relevant to clinical practice. It can be seen therefore that research into acupuncture for pain relief is an inherently difficult task, which requires much sensitivity and careful planning in order to minimise error when drawing conclusions. The researcher needs to adequately address problems such as sample size, blinding, randomisation and appropriate use of control and treatment. It is also most important to be able to clarify that the placebo (if used) is credible to the patient. The field of acupuncture has been overwhelmed with hundreds of sub-standard trials and much doubt still surrounds the issue of efficacy. Few good quality rigorous trials exist to support the use of acupuncture for pain relief in general. It has also been noted that the question of long-term efficacy has not been assessed by the many trials and this needs to be addressed prior to its acceptance. Further well conducted rigorous trials are therefore needed, utilising the lessons learnt through the substantial number of previous trials, in order to adequately assess the efficacy of acupuncture for painful conditions. Such trials must therefore: Utilise a placebo control. Be randomised and stratified. Ensure patient blinding. Use self completed outcome measures and blinded assessors. Have sufficient and well validated outcome measures. Check credibility of treatment. Have a well defined entry criteria which includes a single condition only. Have a long term follow up. Enrol sufficient subjects, the number to be determined by a power calculation. Provide adequate acupuncture treatment as would be found in clinical practice. Be group comparative so as to negate any carry-over effects. In this way good quality trials can be undertaken which will yield reliable results and therefore add meaningful data to the body of knowledge appertaining to the effectiveness of acupuncture.

Auricular Acupuncture in the Treatment of Cocaine/Crack Abuse: A Review of the Efficacy, the Use of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association Protocol, and the Selection of Sham Points

BACKGROUND

The United Kingdom has had a significant increase in addiction to and use of cocaine among 16-29-year olds from 6% in 1998 to 10% in 2000. In 2000, the United Kingdom had the highest recorded consumption of "recent use" cocaine in Europe, with 3.3% of young adults. Acupuncture is quick, inexpensive, and relatively safe, and may establish itself as an important addiction service in the future.

AIM

To select investigations that meet the inclusion criteria and critically appraise them in order to answer the question: "Is acupuncture effective in the treatment of cocaine addiction?" The focus shall then be directed toward the use of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol as the intervention and the selection of sham points for the control group.

DATA SOURCES

The ARRC database was accessed from Trina Ward (M. Phil. student) at Thames Valley University. AMED, MEDLINE and Embase were also accessed along with "hand" searching methods at the British Library.

INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA

People addicted to either cocaine or crack cocaine as their main addiction, needle-acupuncture, single-double-blinded process, randomized subjects, a reference group incorporating a form of sham points.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

use of moxibustion, laser acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) electroacupuncture or conditions that did not meet the inclusion criteria.

QUALITY ASSESSMENT

The criteria set by ter Riet, Kleijnen and Knipschild (in 1990); Hammerschlag and Morris (in 1990); Koes, Bouter and van der Heijden (in 1995), were modified into one set of criteria consisting of 27 different values.

RESULTS

Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. All studies scored over 60 points indicating a relatively adequate methodology quality. The mean was 75 and the standard deviation was 6.80. A linear regression analysis did not yield a statistically significant association (n = 6, p = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS

This review could not confirm that acupuncture was an effective treatment for cocaine abuse. The NADA protocol of five treatment points still offers the acupuncturist the best possible combination of acupuncture points based upon Traditional Chinese Medicine. Throughout all the clinical trials reviewed, no side-effects of acupuncture were noted. This paper calls for the full set of 5 treatment points as laid out by the NADA to be included as the treatment intervention. Points on the helix, other than the liver yang points, should be selected as sham points for the control group.

Clinical research on acupuncture. Part 1. What have reviews of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture told us so far?

OVERVIEW AND METHODS: This paper discusses those medical conditions in which clinical trials of acupuncture have been conducted, and where meta-analyses or systematic reviews have been published. It focuses on the general conclusions of these reviews by further examining official reviews conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada each of which examined available systematic reviews. While all reviews agree that the methodological rigor of acupuncture clinical trials has generally been poor and that higher quality clinical trials are necessary, this has not completely hampered the interpretation of the results of these clinical trials. In some conditions the evidence of efficacy has clearly reached a sufficient critical mass from enough well-designed studies to draw clear conclusions; for the rest, the evidence is difficult to clearly interpret. This paper also examines conclusions from the same international reviews on the safety and adverse effects of acupuncture. Here, conclusions are more easily drawn and there is good agreement about the safety of acupuncture.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

General international agreement has emerged that acupuncture appears to be effective for postoperative dental pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. For migraine, low-back pain, and temporomandibular disorders the results are considered positive by some and difficult to interpret by others. For a number of conditions such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis of the knee, and tennis elbow the evidence is considered promising, but more and better quality research is needed. For conditions such as chronic pain, neck pain, asthma, and drug addiction the evidence is considered inconclusive and difficult to interpret. For smoking cessation, tinnitus, and weight loss the evidence is usually regarded as negative. Reviews have concluded that while not free from serious adverse events, they are rare and that acupuncture is a relatively safe procedure.

Clinical Research on Acupuncture: Part 2. Controlled Clinical Trials, an Overview of Their Methods

There is almost universal agreement that the quality of clinical trials of acupuncture is poor. There is an urgent need to improve their quality. The author develops here a list of 45 criteria important in the design, implementation, and writing up of controlled clinical acupuncture trials. This list has been compiled after examining the quality assessment criteria used in meta-analyses and systematic reviews of acupuncture, general publications on clinical trial designs and methodological considerations specific to acupuncture trials. Each criterion is discussed with recommendations about use and implementation. Additionally, each criterion is discussed relative to their importance in three types of acupuncture trial, acupuncture versus sham acupuncture, acupuncture versus standard therapy and acupuncture versus no treatment or wait-list. It is hoped that this exploration and systematic presentation of the 45 criteria will contribute to improving the quality of clinical trials of acupuncture. Improved trial quality will lead to greater ease interpreting the results of trials, especially in systematic reviews.

The placebo needle, is it a valid and convincing placebo for use in acupuncture trials? A randomised, single-blind, cross-over pilot trial

The issue of what constitutes an effective and realistic acupuncture placebo control has been a continuing problem for acupuncture research. In order to provide an effective placebo, the control procedure must be convincing, visible and should mimic, in all respects, apart from a physiological effect, the real active treatment. The 'Streitberger' needle might fulfil these criteria and this paper reports on a validation study. This was a single-blind, randomised, cross-over pilot study. Patients were drawn from the orthopaedic hip and knee, joint replacement waiting list. Intervention consisted of either 2 weeks of treatment with real acupuncture followed by 2 weeks on placebo, or vice versa. The prime outcome was a needle sensation questionnaire and there was a range of secondary outcomes. Thirty-seven patients were randomised and completed treatment. Groups were well balanced at baseline. No significant differences between groups or needle types were found for any of the sensations measured. Most patients were unable to discriminate between the needles by penetration; however, nearly 40% were able to detect a difference in treatment type between needles. No major differences in outcome between real and placebo needling could be found. The fact that nearly 40% of subjects did not find that the two interventions were similar, however, raises some concerns with regard to the wholesale adoption of this instrument as a standard acupuncture placebo. Further work on inter-tester reliability and standardisation of technique is highly recommended before we can be confident about using this needle in further studies.

Reporting of clinical details in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for the treatment of migraine/headaches and nausea/vomiting

OBJECTIVES

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of reporting of clinical details in a selected sample of 30 randomized control trials (RCT) on acupuncture efficacy for the treatment of migraine/headaches (n = 11) and for nausea/vomiting (n = 19). Additional goals included the assessment of the quality of randomization of the trials, and the assessment of the degree of reporting of information about the outcome measures used in each trial.

METHODS

A checklist of 50 clinical details selected on the basis of a previous survey was used to evaluate the degree of reporting of information about patients, practitioners, diagnosis, and acupuncture treatments presented in each RCT. The likelihood of bias in the randomization process was assessed using a previously validated scale. Information about reliability/validity and clinical significance of the outcome measures used in each trial was assessed in terms of fully, partially, or not reported, with no attempt to evaluate their quality or appropriateness.

RESULTS

In this sample of RCTs an average of 38.7% of important clinical details per trial were either fully or partially reported by researchers, the lowest being 26.4% for the migraine/headaches group. Studies with better quality of randomization were not more likely to report important clinical details. Only five studies (16.7%) provided information about reliability and validity of the outcome measures used, and only four studies (13.3%), all from the migraines/headache group, discussed the clinical significance of the outcome measures selected.

CONCLUSIONS

In this sample of 30 RCTs of acupuncture efficacy for the treatment of migraines/headache and nausea/vomiting, researchers neglected to report adequately on important clinical details, and often did not discuss the reliability, validity, and clinical significance of the outcome measures used in the trials, thus rendering potential readers of the articles unable to critically appraise them from a clinical standpoint. In addition, the fact that the quality of randomization of the trials was totally unrelated to the degree of reporting of clinical details renders potential reviewers of these studies unable to establish valid conclusions about acupuncture efficacy based on the general quality of the methodological design. In the future, all areas of clinical acupuncture research need to be reviewed in a similar manner, and recommendations about proper reporting of important clinical details and proper discussion of the validity, reliability, and clinical significance of the outcome measures used in each trial should be made. Only then could this research be used to generate meaningful evidence-based recommendations for the contemporary practice of acupuncture.

The reporting of clinical acupuncture research: what do clinicians need to know?

It is presently unknown what the real impact of clinical acupuncture research on practitioners is, or what kind of specific information clinicians need to find on a published paper in this field.

OBJECTIVES

To develop a pilot survey instrument to evaluate clinicians' information needs when reading acupuncture research papers, and then to use it to assess the relative importance that specific clinical details may have for clinicians when reading papers on the areas of acupuncture treatment for migraine/headaches and nausea/vomiting.

METHODS

The survey instrument consisted of a list of 50 clinical details grouped in four areas: practitioners, patients, diagnostic procedures, and acupuncture treatment. Questions about the relative importance of these details regarding acupuncture research in general, and on the areas of migraine/headaches and nausea/vomiting in particular, were answered by 34 medical acupuncture practitioners attending a conference.

RESULTS

Most clinical details were deemed important, with the highest rating for details concerning the acupuncture treatment (M = 3.25 +/- 0.43 on a scale from 0 = not at all important to 4 = very important), and diagnostic procedures (M = 2.91 +/- 0.33). Similar results applied to the research on migraine/headaches and nausea/vomiting.

CONCLUSION

For acupuncture clinical research to have a real impact in daily practice, researchers need to be sensitive to the needs of clinicians and provide enough information about clinical details on the published papers. A survey instrument like this seems to be an appropriate tool to gather information about clinicians' needs.

Does acupuncture improve the orthopedic management of chronic low back pain--a randomized, blinded, controlled trial with 3 months follow up

This prospective, randomised controlled trial, with three parallel groups, patient and observer blinded for verum and sham acupuncture and a follow up of 3 months raises the question: "Does a combination of acupuncture and conservative orthopedic treatment improve conservative orthopedic treatment in chronic low back pain (LBP). 186 in-patients of a LBP rehabilitation center with a history of LBP >or=6 weeks, VAS >or=50mm, and no pending compensation claims, were selected; for the three random group 4 weeks of treatment was applied. 174 patients met the protocol criteria and reported after treatment, 124 reported after 3 months follow up. Patients were assorted 4 strata: chronic LBP, <or=0.5 years, 0.5-2 years, 2-5 years, >or=5 years. Analysis was by intention to treat. Group 1 (Verum+COT) received 12 treatments of verum acupuncture and conservative orthopedic treatment (COT). Group 2 (Sham+COT) received 12 treatments of non-specific needling and COT. Group 3 (nil+COT) received COT alone. Verum- and Sham acupuncture were blinded against patient and examiner. The primary endpoints were pain reduction >or=50% on VAS 3 months after the end of the treatment protocol. Secondary endpoints were pain reduction >or=50% on VAS and treatment efficacy on a four-point box scale directly after the end of the treatment protocol and treatment efficacy after 3 months. In the whole sample a pain relief of >or=50% on VAS was reported directly after the end of treatment protocol: Verum+COT 65% (95%CI 51-77%), Sham+COT 34% (95%ci 22-49%), nil+COT 43% (95%ci 29-58%) - results are significant for Verum+COT over Sham+COT (P<or=0.02). The results after 3 months are: Verum+COT 77% (95%ci 62-88%), Sham+COT 29% (95%ci 16-46%), nil+Cot 14% (95%ci 4-30%) - effects are significant for Verum+COT over Sham+COT (P<or=0.001) and for Verum+COT over nil+COT (P<0.001). No difference was found in the mobility of the patients nor in the intake of NSAID diclofenac. Our conclusion is that acupuncture can be an important supplement of conservative orthopedic treatment in the management of chronic LBP.

Systematic reviews of complementary therapies - an annotated bibliography. Part 1: acupuncture

BACKGROUND

Complementary therapies are widespread but controversial. We aim to provide a comprehensive collection and a summary of systematic reviews of clinical trials in three major complementary therapies (acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy). This article is dealing with acupuncture. Potentially relevant reviews were searched through the register of the Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field, the Cochrane Library, Medline, and bibliographies of articles and books. To be included articles had to review prospective clinical trials of acupuncture; had to describe review methods explicitly; had to be published; and had to focus on treatment effects. Information on conditions, interventions, methods, results and conclusions was extracted using a pretested form and summarized descriptively.

RESULTS

From a total of 48 potentially relevant reviews preselected in a screening process 39 met the inclusion criteria. 22 were on various pain syndromes or rheumatic diseases. Other topics addressed by more than one review were addiction, nausea, asthma and tinnitus. Almost unanimously the reviews state that acupuncture trials include too few patients. Often included trials are heterogeneous regarding patients, interventions and outcome measures, are considered to have insufficient quality and contradictory results. Convincing evidence is available only for postoperative nausea, for which acupuncture appears to be of benefit, and smoking cessation, where acupuncture is no more effective than sham acupuncture.

CONCLUSIONS

A large number of systematic reviews on acupuncture exists. What is most obvious from these reviews is the need for (the funding of) well-designed, larger clinical trials.

The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture

BACKGROUND

To investigate the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials in three areas of complementary medicine.

METHODS

The methodological quality of 207 randomized trials collected for five previously published systematic reviews on homeopathy, herbal medicine (Hypericum for depression, Echinacea for common cold), and acupuncture (for asthma and chronic headache) was assessed using a validated scale (the Jadad scale) and single quality items.

RESULTS

While the methodological quality of the trials was highly variable, the majority had important shortcomings in reporting and/or methodology. Major problems in most trials were the description of allocation concealment and the reporting of drop-outs and withdrawals. There were relevant differences in single quality components between the different complementary therapies: For example, acupuncture trials reported adequate allocation concealment less often (6% versus 32% of homeopathy and 26% of herb trials), and trials on herbal extracts had better summary scores (mean score 3.12 versus 2.33 for homeopathy and 2.19 for acupuncture trials). Larger trials published more recently in journals listed in Medline and in English language scored significantly higher than trials not meeting these criteria.

CONCLUSION

Trials of complementary therapies often have relevant methodological weaknesses. The type of weaknesses varies considerably across interventions.

An Evidence-Based Approach to Acupuncture

Evidence-based medicine relies mainly on the findings from clinical trials, and to minimise selection bias such trials should ideally be randomised. As the results of clinical studies are rarely identical, the fairest judgement on the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention is generated through systematic review of clinical trials. Systematic reviews have to demonstrate that all the available evidence that fulfils appropriate criteria has been considered. Once systematic reviews have established the current evidence on a given subject, this knowledge needs to be implemented in clinical practice.

Applying the rules of evidence-based medicine to acupuncture proves it to be effective for some conditions and ineffective for others, while its effects on many medical problems remain inconclusive: this indicates areas that require further research. Evidence based medicine should not be regarded as a threat to acupuncture, but as a challenge and an opportunity Importantly, this approach is strongly in the interests of patients.

Methodological and ethical issues in clinical trials of acupuncture

In this review, controlled clinical trials of acupuncture are placed into five categories on the basis of the treatment with which acupuncture is compared. Methodological and ethical issues relevant to each category are discussed. Wait list (or no treatment) controls, which are ethically acceptable for stable, chronic conditions, assess the efficacy of acupuncture relative to the natural history of the condition but do not control for nonspecific treatment effects. Placebo controls, defined here as noninvasive procedures such as inactive transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) or mock needling, assess whether acupuncture has an effect beyond that of the therapeutic milieu. Sham controls, defined as invasive but inappropriate procedures such as shallow needling at nonacupoint sites, assess whether acupuncture efficacy depends on the style and location of needling. Standard care comparisons assess whether acupuncture performs at least as well as a medication, medical device, or physiotherapy. Adjunctive care comparisons assess the efficacy of acupuncture plus standard care relative to standard care alone. From an ethical perspective, active debate surrounds placebo and sham controls. Those who argue against these procedures consider withholding treatment to be improper. They favor the wait list and both standard care designs in which all patients receive treatment. Others argue that testing a treatment prior to demonstrating its efficacy against a placebo is equally improper. From a methodological perspective, it should also be considered that most clinical trials of acupuncture have assessed its efficacy by administering a fixed course of treatment based on biomedical diagnosis. The challenge for future trials is to design conditions that more closely mimic the delivery of acupuncture in clinical practice, as individualized treatment informed by its own diagnostic traditions.