ClinicalTrials.gg
WithdrawnNCT05857020IC/BPSUpdated Jul 30, 2024

Auricular Acupressure Therapy for Patients With IC/BPS

An interventional study of Auricular Acupressure in Interstitial Cystitis, Bladder Pain Syndrome and Urologic Diseases, sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences. Withdrawn. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-07-30.

Sponsored by Wake Forest University Health Sciences · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Why this study was withdrawn
withdrawn by the sponsor due to personal constraints and limited funding
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
0
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of administering auricular acupressure for patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), and evaluating the efficacy of auricular acupressure to reduce pain scores and decrease pain medication usage over time.

Read the detailed description

Eligible participants will be asked to complete baseline questionnaires. After completion, a study interventionist will place 10 adhesive acupressure pads/seeds on the participant's ears (5 on each ear). Each seed will be placed on a specific site on the ear believed to help with pain and overall well-being. Over the course of 5 days, participants will be asked to apply a small amount of manual pressure with their fingers to each of the ear pads and answer daily study questionnaires.

This feasibility trial is being conducted in collaboration with the Battlefield Auricular Acupressure (BAApress) Training and Intervention Fidelity study (IRB00084011).

02

Conditions studied

  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Bladder Pain Syndrome
  • Urologic Diseases
  • Chronic Pain

Keywords

  • interstitial cystitis
  • bladder pain syndrome
  • pelvic pain
  • urologic pain
  • urologic disease
03

In context

Cystitis, Interstitial

236 studies on the registry are indexed under Cystitis, Interstitial; 35 are open to participants now.

Browse Cystitis, Interstitial studies →

Lead sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences is the lead sponsor of 1,351 studies on the registry; 200 are open to participants now.

Of its 332 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 251 (76%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age >= 18 years
  • History of documented interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS)
  • Able to read and understand form in English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a history of skin disease (e.g. psoriasis) involving the ear, adhesive allergy, recent scar tissue on ear, or current abrasions or cuts on the ear
  • Cognitive impairment (e.g. delirium, dementia)
  • Physical impairment preventing them from applying daily pressure/stimulation to ear seeds
  • Patients with cardiac pacemakers ( to POINTER PAL)
  • Use of some types of hearing aids (which could potentially obstruct placements of ear seeds)
  • Any acute illness or psychiatric conditions that would impact adherence to the study requirements
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
0 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Auricular Acupressure (AA) Group

    Participants will receive the AA intervention over a 5 day period in addition to their Standard of Care treatment for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS), and complete daily study questionnaires

    Device: Auricular Acupressure

Interventions

  • DeviceAuricular Acupressure

    Auricular Acupressure (AA) utilizing all-natural vaccaria ear seeds will be applied to 5 designated sites on each participant's ear (total of 10 seeds placed per patient). Participants will be asked if they consent to having their ear placement photographed after placement (optional) and audio recorded during interventionist ear seed placement (optional) in collaboration with the BAApress training fidelity study.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Day 1

  3. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Day 2

  4. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Day 3

  5. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Day 4

  6. Pain scores using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

    The NRS pain score is an 11-point pain scale in which patients will be asked to circle a number between 0 and 10 that best represents their current pain intensity. 0 usually indicates "no pain at all" and 10 indicates "worst pain imaginable."

    Time frame: Day 5

  7. Change in Pain, Enjoyment, and General Activity (PEG) Assessment Scores

    The PEG assesses a patient's reported intensity of pain and interference with general activity. It involves three 11-point numeric rating scales (NRS) ranging from 0 ("no pain" or "does not interfere") to 10 ("pain as bad as you can imagine" or "completely interferes"). Scores from each NRS will be compared before and after use of the study intervention. Higher scores represent more pain and or increased enjoyment and activity interference.

    Time frame: Day 5

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in amount of Opioid Use

    Participants will be required to document all medications used prior to initiating therapy, and document all medications used while using the auricular acupressure seeds. Information collected will include medication type, frequency of use, and amount (milligrams) used. Mean/median changes from baseline to Day 5 will be calculated.

    Time frame: Baseline, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5

  2. Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) Assessments

    The PCS assesses the extend of catastrophic thinking due to pelvic/bladder pain according to 3 components: rumination, magnification, and helplessness. It is a 13-item scale with a total score range from 0 to 52. Each individual question is aimed to assess the thoughts and feelings of the patient using questions that are rated from 0 (not at all) to 4 (all the time). Higher scores are associated with higher amounts of pain catastrophizing.

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  3. Auricular Acupressure Acceptability - Likert scale scores

    Participants will be asked 3 different questions to evaluate overall acceptance of the intervention (auricular acupressure). Responses will be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. 1) The Likert scale question will be phrased as, "How satisfied were you with how your pain has been treated?" with the scale responses ranging from "5 = Very satisfied, 4 = Satisfied, 3 = Somewhat satisfied, 2 = Somewhat dissatisfied, 1 = Dissatisfied, 0 = Very dissatisfied."

    Time frame: Day 5

  4. Auricular Acupressure Acceptability - auricular acupressure

    Participants will be asked 3 different questions to evaluate overall acceptance of the intervention (auricular acupressure). Responses will be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. 2) The Yes/No question will be phrased as, "Would you consider using auricular acupressure in the future for pain or if recommended by your nurse of physician?" with responses ranging from "No, I would not use again" (score = 0), "Maybe" (score = 1), and "Yes, I would consider using it in the future" (Score = 2).

    Time frame: Day 5

  5. Auricular Acupressure Acceptability - Feedback

    Participants will be asked 3 different questions to evaluate overall acceptance of the intervention (auricular acupressure). Responses will be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. 3) The open-ended question will ask, "Is there anything else you would like to tell us that may be helpful for us to know regarding ear acupressure?" Each answer will be collected and assessed for future studies.

    Time frame: Day 5

  6. Change in Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC)

    The PGIC is a patient-reported assessment of improvement or decline in regard to their pain using a 7-point scale. Responses range from (1) "no change (or condition has got worse)" to (7) "a great deal better, and a considerable improvement that has made all the difference." This questionnaire also includes an 11-point NRS scale asking patient's to circle the number from 0 (much better) to 10 (much worse) that best describes the degree of change experienced since beginning the intervention.

    Time frame: Day 5

  7. Change in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance Short Form

    This PROMIS sleep disturbance short form aims to assess a patient's reported quality of sleep. Each of the 6 items in the questionnaire is rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (very good) to 5 (very poor).

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  8. Change in IC/BPS symptoms as measured by the Interstitial Cystitis Symptom Index (ICSI)

    The ICSI (score range: 0-19 points) and ICPI (score range: 0-16 points) contain four questions related to urinary and pain symptoms. For the ICSI, 3 of the 4 questions utilize a range of 0-5 with 0 indicating the symptom is never experienced and 5 indicating the symptom is almost always experienced. The fourth question utilizes a range of 0-4 with 0 indicating the symptom is never experienced and 4 indicating the symptom is almost always experienced.

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  9. Change in IC/BPS symptoms as measured by the Interstitial Problem Index (ICPI)

    For the ICPI, all four questions utilize a range of 0-4 with 0 indicating it is no problem and 4 indicating a big problem.

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  10. Change in IC/BPS symptoms as measured by the Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency (PUF) Patient Symptom Scale

    The PUF Patient Symptom Scale is a validated instrument used to assess the severity of symptoms associated with IC/BPS and the degree to which these symptoms "bother" a patient. It is separated into 2 subsections, scored individually as the Symptom Score and Bother score, to produce one composite score. The symptom score is comprised of 7 items addressing urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia, dyspareunia, and pelvic pain. Each item is scored from 0 (never) to 3 (always) or 1 (mild) to 3 (severe), except for two which quantify daytime frequency and nocturia separately with scores ranging from 0 to 4. A composite score between 10 and 14 indicates a strong diagnosis of IC/BPS with higher scores reflecting a greater degree of severity of symptoms and disease progression as well as impact on quality of life.

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  11. Change in pelvic pain, as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form

    The BPI Short Form is a validated questionnaire to assess the severity of systemic and pelvic pain and its interference in overall quality of life. Pain severity is measured through four 11-point numeric rating scales (NRS) assessing pain at its "worst," "least," and "average," within the past week, and pain "right now" (at the time of short form completion), with the composite (mean score) of all four scales indicating overall pelvic pain. Pain interference is measured through 7 scales, with scores ranging from 0 (does not interfere) to 10 (completely interferes), for different daily activities. The composite score for the interference items is used to assess overall pain interference, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity and a change in 2 points indicating a significant change in pain. The form also consists of 3 pain body maps to identify specific locations of pain, and 2 questions related to the effect of current medications on pain.

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Start is estimated for Jul 2024; primary completion for Jun 2025, 11 months later.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 18, 2023
First posted
May 12, 2023
StartEst.
Jul 2024
Primary completionEst.
Jun 2025
CompletionEst.
Oct 2025
Last update
Jul 30, 2024
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 30, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05857020
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 12, 2023
Start date
Jul 2024 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Jul 30, 2024

Study contacts

Stephen Walker, PhD
principal investigator · Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is withdrawn, as verified in Apr 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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