Acupuncture for Acute Intracerebral Haemorrhage Trial
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Status:
Ongoing. As of November 2005, 75 cases have been included.
Purpose:
To test whether acupuncture can improve activity of daily living (ADL) and reduce long term institutional care in acute cerebral hemorrhage.
Interventions:
Acupuncture
Acupuncture (from Lat. acus, "needle", and pungere, "prick") or in Standard Mandarin, zhe-n bia-n (a related word zhe-n jiu( refers to acupuncture together with moxibustion)[3] is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine filiform needles into specific points on the body with the aim of relieving pain and for therapeutic purposes.[4] According to acupuncture theory, these acupuncture points lie along meridians along which qi, a kind of vital energy, is said to flow.
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Year Started:
2003
Design:
Multi-center, single-blind, randomized, controlled study.
Inclusion Criteria
Patients with CT confirmed intracerebral hemorrhage; blood pressures stable; if recurrent stroke, patient should not be functionally disabled before the present event; only patients with functional impairment at randomization.
Exclusion Criteria
(a) No paralysis; (b) dependent in ADL before the present event; (c) inability to finish a basic treatment course; (d) infection near acupoints; (e) severe complications, such as renal failure; (f) severely impaired consciousness, such as coma; (g) problems with follow up because patient lives too far away and would not be able to make a phone call.
Patient Involvement:
Patients are randomized into two groups: acupuncture group or non-acupuncture group. Patients in the two groups receive the same supportive treatment, such as fluid supply, prevention and treatment of complications and some rehabilitation. No sham acupuncture is used in the control group for ethical and practical reasons. Patients in the treatment group receive acupuncture 5 times per week for 3 weeks.
Primary Outcome:
Mortality or dependency (dependency is defined as Barthel Index ≤60), and long term institutional care at 6 months.
Secondary Outcome:
Scandinavian Stroke Scale score at one month or discharge and adverse events of acupuncture.
Source of Information:
Presented at the 2006 International Stroke Conference [February 2006].
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Web Links and Publications:
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This information last updated on: 1/5/2009
Reviewed on: 07/16/2009.
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