Efficacy and Safety of Thread Embedding Acupuncture in Treating Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Summary

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a very common disease nowadays. Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the first-line treatment for this disease. However, the effectiveness of treatment with PPIs is still limited. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in treating this condition. Another treatment method is thread embedding acupuncture therapy, which is a method of burying threads into acupoints to create a more lasting stimulation than traditional acupuncture. This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of thread embedding acupuncture and standard dose pantoprazole compared with standard dose pantoprazole as monotherapy in adults.

Timeline

Start

2022-05-04

Primary completion

2022-07-20

Completion

2022-07-20

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

paper the TEA+PPI group significantly reduced the GerdQ score (mean difference [MD] and 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.8 [-2.4, -1.1]) PMID 37637187 ↗

paper increased the rate of heartburn and regurgitation resolution compared to PPI (54.5% versus 9.1%, respectively) PMID 37637187 ↗

Publications

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• Background Wang XL, Lin GH, Xu N, Zeng JC, Xu DH, Wang SX. [Analysis of adverse reactions of acupoint catgut embedding therapy]. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2020 Feb 12;40(2):193-6. doi: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20190316-k00034. Chinese.
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• Results Luo Z, Hu X, Chen C, Zhu L, Zhang W, Shen Y, He J. Effect of Catgut Embedment in Du Meridian Acupoint on Mental and Psychological Conditions of Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Sep 22;2020:5415813. doi: 10.1155/2020/5415813. eCollection 2020.
• Trinh DT, Tran AH, Bui MP, Vuong NL. Thread-embedding acupuncture may improve symptom resolution in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease: A randomized controlled trial. Integr Med Res. 2023 Sep;12(3):100971. doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2023.100971. Epub 2023 Jul 7.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	Pantoprazole	Other / unclassified	40 mg	Oral

Indications