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CompletedNCT03391635Updated Mar 16, 2022

Efficacy of Electroacupuncture Compared With Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation for Functional Constipation

An interventional study of Electroacupuncture and TranscutaneousElectricNerveStimulation in Functional Constipation, sponsored by Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-03-16.

Sponsored by Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
70
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objective of this trial is to compare the efficacy of electroacupuncture versus transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation for functional constipation

Read the detailed description

Both electroacupuncture(EA) therapy and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation(TENS) are safe and effective for functional constipation, but no head to head comparing trial was conducted.

Methods:102 participants with functional constipation will be recruited and randomly allocated into the EA group and the TENS group.Participants in both groups will receive EA or TENS treatment at Tianshu(ST 25), Fujie(SP 14) and Shangju xu(ST 37) 3 times a week for 8 weeks.

02

Conditions studied

  • Functional Constipation

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Keywords

  • acupuncture
  • functional constipation
  • transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation
  • randomized controlled trial
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Conforming to the criteria for the diagnosis of functional constipation in Rome III standard;
  2. Aged of 18 to 75 years;
  3. No medication for constipation has been used for at least 2 weeks before treatment. Except for emergency treatment, it has not received acupuncture treatment for constipation in the past 3 months, and has not participated in other ongoing clinical research.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Constipation caused by irritable bowel syndrome and organically or medicated; secondary to endocrine, metabolic, neurogenic, or surgical constipation;
  2. Subjects with serious heart, liver, kidney damage or cognitive impairment, aphasia, mental disorders, or the inability to cooperate with the examination and treatment.
  3. Pregnant or lactation patients;
  4. Subjects with abdominal aortic aneurysm, abnormal enlargement of liver and spleen and so on.
  5. Subjects with coagulation dysfunction or anticoagulants such as warfarin and heparin have been used all the time.
  6. Subjects installed with the cardiac pacemaker.
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
70 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Electroacupuncture

    The treatment consists of 3 times a week for 8 weeks.Huatuo Brand needles (0.30×50mm or 0.30×70mm) and the SDZ-V EA apparatus (Suzhou Medical Appliance) will be used for ST25, SP14 and ST37.After acupuncture,the needle handle will be connected with the electrode in the electroacupuncture instrument. The parameters of the electric acupuncture apparatus:Dilatational wave,the frequency is 2/10Hz,the electric current intensity is 0.1mA-1.0mA.

    Device: Electroacupuncture

  • Active comparator
    TranscutaneousElectricNerveStimulation

    The treatment consists of 3 times a week for 8 weeks.Huatuo Brand electrode patch (50mm×50mm) and the SDZ-V EA apparatus (Suzhou Medical Appliance) will be used for ST25, SP14 and ST37. The parameters of the electric acupuncture apparatus:Dilatational wave,the frequency is 2/10Hz,the electric current intensity is 2mA-5mA.

    Device: TranscutaneousElectricNerveStimulation

Interventions

  • DeviceElectroacupuncture

    Participants will receive electroacupuncture at bilateral ST25, SP14 and ST37 for 30 minutes each time,3 times a week for 8 weeks.

    Also known as: EA

  • DeviceTranscutaneousElectricNerveStimulation

    Participants will receive transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation at bilateral ST25, SP14 and ST37 for 30 minutes each time,3 times a week for 8 weeks.

    Also known as: TENS

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The proportion of participants with an average increasing of one or more complete spontaneous bowel movements from baseline at week 8.

    The proportion of participants with an average increasing of one or more complete spontaneous bowel movements from baseline at week 8.

    Time frame: Baseline,week 8

Secondary outcomes

  1. The proportion of participants with an average increasing of one or more complete spontaneous bowel movements

    The proportion of participants with an average increasing of one or more complete spontaneous bowel movements from baseline at weeks 4 , 20 and 32.

    Time frame: Baseline,week 4,week 20 and week 32

  2. Change number in CSBMS

    The change in the number of CSBMs at weeks 4 , 8 , 20 and 32.

    Time frame: Baseline,week 4,week 8, week 20 and week 32

  3. Change number in SBMS

    The change in the number of SBMs at weeks 4 , 8 , 20 and 32.

    Time frame: Baseline,week 4,week 8, week 20 and week 32

  4. The proportion of participants with type3 or type 4 stool character

    According to the BRISTOL stool form scale, the proportion of participants with type3 or type 4 at weeks 4 , 8 , 20 and 32

    Time frame: Baseline,week 4,week 8, week 20 and week 32

  5. Change number of average score in defecation difficulty

    The change in average score of difficulty in defecation at weeks 4 , 8 , 20 and 32

    Time frame: Baseline,week 4,week 8, week 20 and week 32

  6. Change number of PAC-QOL score

    The change in total score on the patients assessment of constipation quality of life questionnaire(PAC-QOL) total score at the end of week 8, compared with baseline.

    Time frame: Baseline,week 8

  7. The proportion and average amount of using cathartics

    The proportion and average amount of using cathartics at weeks -1 , 4 , 8 , 20 and 32.

    Time frame: weeks -1 , 4 , 8 , 20 and 32.

06

Study locations

1 site
  • Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
    Beijing, 100053, China
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Mugie SM, Benninga MA, Di Lorenzo C. Epidemiology of constipation in children and adults: a systematic review. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2011 Feb;25(1):3-18. doi: 10.1016/j.bpg.2010.12.010. PubMed 21382575 ↗
  • Tran LC, Di Palma JA. Lack of lasting effectiveness of PEG 3350 laxative treatment of constipation. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2005 Aug;39(7):600-2. doi: 10.1097/01.mcg.0000170769.67320.47. PubMed 16000928 ↗
  • Gordon M, Naidoo K, Akobeng AK, Thomas AG. Osmotic and stimulant laxatives for the management of childhood constipation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Jul 11;(7):CD009118. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009118.pub2. PubMed 22786523 ↗
  • Pare P, Bridges R, Champion MC, Ganguli SC, Gray JR, Irvine EJ, Plourde V, Poitras P, Turnbull GK, Moayyedi P, Flook N, Collins SM. Recommendations on chronic constipation (including constipation associated with irritable bowel syndrome) treatment. Can J Gastroenterol. 2007 Apr;21 Suppl B(Suppl B):3B-22B. PubMed 17464377 ↗
  • Ford AC, Suares NC. Effect of laxatives and pharmacological therapies in chronic idiopathic constipation: systematic review and meta-analysis. Gut. 2011 Feb;60(2):209-18. doi: 10.1136/gut.2010.227132. PubMed 21205879 ↗
  • Wong SW, Lubowski DZ. Slow-transit constipation: evaluation and treatment. ANZ J Surg. 2007 May;77(5):320-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2007.04051.x. PubMed 17497967 ↗
  • Pfeifer J. Surgical options to treat constipation: A brief overview. Rozhl Chir. 2015 Sep;94(9):349-61. PubMed 26537099 ↗
  • Remes Troche JM, Gomez Escudero O, Icaza Chavez ME, Noble Lugo A, Lopez Colombo A, Bielsa MV, Charua Guindic L; Asociacion Mexicana de Gastroenterologia. [Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of constipation in Mexico. C) Medical and surgical treatment]. Rev Gastroenterol Mex. 2011 Apr-Jun;76(2):141-54. Spanish. PubMed 21724490 ↗
  • Du WF, Yu L, Yan XK, Wang FC. [Met-analysis on randomized controlled clinical trials of acupuncture and moxibustion on constipation]. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2012 Jan;32(1):92-6. Chinese. PubMed 22295840 ↗
  • Liu Z, Yan S, Wu J, He L, Li N, Dong G, Fang J, Fu W, Fu L, Sun J, Wang L, Wang S, Yang J, Zhang H, Zhang J, Zhao J, Zhou W, Zhou Z, Ai Y, Zhou K, Liu J, Xu H, Cai Y, Liu B. Acupuncture for Chronic Severe Functional Constipation: A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Dec 6;165(11):761-769. doi: 10.7326/M15-3118. Epub 2016 Sep 13. PubMed 27618593 ↗
  • Drossman DA. The functional gastrointestinal disorders and the Rome III process. Gastroenterology. 2006 Apr;130(5):1377-90. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.03.008. No abstract available. PubMed 16678553 ↗
  • Lewis SJ, Heaton KW. Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1997 Sep;32(9):920-4. doi: 10.3109/00365529709011203. PubMed 9299672 ↗
  • Marquis P, De La Loge C, Dubois D, McDermott A, Chassany O. Development and validation of the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life questionnaire. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2005 May;40(5):540-51. doi: 10.1080/00365520510012208. PubMed 16036506 ↗
  • Yang X, Liu Y, Liu B, He L, Liu Z, Yan Y, Liu J, Liu B. Factors related to acupuncture response in patients with chronic severe functional constipation: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2017 Nov 22;12(11):e0187723. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187723. eCollection 2017. PubMed 29166673 ↗
  • Ismail KA, Chase J, Gibb S, Clarke M, Catto-Smith AG, Robertson VJ, Hutson JM, Southwell BR. Daily transabdominal electrical stimulation at home increased defecation in children with slow-transit constipation: a pilot study. J Pediatr Surg. 2009 Dec;44(12):2388-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2009.07.063. PubMed 20006033 ↗
  • Clarke MC, Chase JW, Gibb S, Hutson JM, Southwell BR. Improvement of quality of life in children with slow transit constipation after treatment with transcutaneous electrical stimulation. J Pediatr Surg. 2009 Jun;44(6):1268-72; discussion 1272. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2009.02.031. PubMed 19524752 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03391635
Lead sponsor
Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
Responsible party
Yuxiao Zeng (Postgraduate student of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 5, 2018
Start date
Jul 1, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2019
Completion
Dec 30, 2020
Last update
Mar 16, 2022

Study contacts

Yuxiao Zeng
principal investigator · Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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