An interventional study of laser acupuncture in Uremia, sponsored by Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 90 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-24.
Sponsored by Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Sixty patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=30) receiving laser acupuncture or the control group (n=30) receiving sham laser acupuncture. Treatment sessions were conducted during dialysis sessions. The experimental group received laser acupuncture at Xuehai, Quchi, and Bai Chongwo acupoints three times per week for four weeks. The control group received sham laser acupuncture at the same acupoints. The 5-D Pruritus Scale and DLQI were used to assess pruritus severity before and after the intervention.
The subjects were divided into two groups to investigate whether laser acupuncture can improve uremic pruritus.
53 studies on the registry are indexed under Uremia; 10 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 60 is close to the median of 60 across 38 interventional studies indexed under Uremia.
Browse Uremia studies →Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 37 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The experimental group is a powered, functional laser device,
Device: laser acupuncture
the control group is a non-functional laser device that does not emit light and has no therapeutic effect.
Device: laser acupuncture
laser acupuncture on acupoints
Title: Evaluation of the Efficacy of Laser Acupuncture on Ureimc Pruritus
The severity of uremic pruritus was assessed using the 5-D Itch Scale, a validated instrument that measures itch duration, degree, direction, disability, and distribution. The total score ranges from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating worse pruritus. Measurements were taken at baseline and at week 4 after completion of the laser acupuncture or sham intervention.
Time frame: A 4-week timeframe from enrollment to treatment completion.
Participants were recruited from the hemodialysis center of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital between January 2024 and December 2024. Eligible patients were screened based on inclusion/exclusion criteria during routine dialysis visits. Written informed consent was obtained prior to enrollment. A total of 60 participants met eligibility criteria and agreed to join the study.
| Milestone | Sham Laser | Laser Acupuncture |
|---|---|---|
| Started | 30 | 30 |
| Completed | 30 | 30 |
| Not completed | 0 | 0 |
The severity of uremic pruritus was assessed using the 5-D Itch Scale, a validated instrument that measures itch duration, degree, direction, disability, and distribution. The total score ranges from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating worse pruritus. Measurements were taken at baseline and at week 4 after completion of the laser acupuncture or sham intervention.
| points | Laser Acupuncture | Sham Laser |
|---|---|---|
| baesline | 18.13 ± 3.71 | 17.47 ± 3.58 |
| Week 4 | 10.20 ± 4.96 | 17.10 ± 3.72 |
Collected over From baseline to week 4 during the intervention period.. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.
| Group | Deaths | Serious | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sham Laser | 0/30 (0%) | 0/30 (0%) | 0/30 (0%) |
| Laser Acupuncture | 0/30 (0%) | 0/30 (0%) | 0/30 (0%) |
| Age, Continuous(years) | Sham Laser | Laser Acupuncture | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 57.27 ± 12.39 | 59.20 ± 11.52 | 58.24 ± 12.02 |
| Sex: Female, Male(Participants) | Sham Laser | Laser Acupuncture | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 15 | 16 | 31 |
| Male | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | Sham Laser | Laser Acupuncture | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asian | 30 | 30 | 60 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black or African American | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| White | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than one race | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No
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Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital