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RecruitingNCT07598227Updated May 20, 2026

Moxibustion for Nocturia

An interventional study of Moxibustion in Nocturia, Acupoint and Moxibustion, sponsored by Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 40 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-20.

Sponsored by Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 2 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2025, registered Mar 2026).
  • Started Jan 2025; still recruiting 1 year 10 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
100
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
40 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Nocturia, the interruption of sleep due to nighttime voiding, severely compromises quality of life, emotional health, and overall well-being when occurring twice or more per night. Given that some patients experience inadequate responses to conventional Western therapies or harbor concerns about the long-term side effects of pharmaceuticals, many are turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for alternative solutions. This study utilized a randomized clinical trial design to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupoint moxibustion for nocturia.

Read the detailed description

Nocturia, the interruption of sleep due to nighttime voiding, severely compromises quality of life, emotional health, and overall well-being when occurring twice or more per night. Given that some patients experience inadequate responses to conventional Western therapies or harbor concerns about the long-term side effects of pharmaceuticals, many are turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for alternative solutions. This study utilized a randomized clinical trial design to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupoint moxibustion for nocturia. Using voiding diaries, the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), and Quality of Life (QoL) assessments, this study aimed to provide a cost-effective and clinically feasible complementary and alternative therapy. Furthermore, the TCM constitutional characteristics of nocturia patients were analyzed through the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ) combined with evaluations of abdominal muscle tension.

02

Conditions studied

  • Nocturia
  • Acupoint
  • Moxibustion
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine

Browse trials for

03

In context

Nocturia

134 studies on the registry are indexed under Nocturia; 22 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 71 across 108 interventional studies indexed under Nocturia.

Browse Nocturia studies →

Lead sponsor

Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 88 studies on the registry; 20 are open to participants now.

Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

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

  • Patients aged 40 years or older.
  • Experiencing two or more nocturia episodes per night.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria

  • Active urinary tract infection (UTI).
  • Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (defined as > 6.5%).
  • Presence of a neurogenic bladder caused by conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, or nerve damage resulting from major pelvic surgery.
  • Severe congestive heart failure ( [NYHA] functional class > II).
  • Use of other Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies for nocturia symptoms within the past month (30 days).
  • Pregnant women.
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.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
100 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Moxibustion

    Procedure: Moxibustion

  • No intervention
    Control

Interventions

  • ProcedureMoxibustion

    Apply moxibustion on acupoint

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. frequency of nocturia

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  2. nocturnal urine volume

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

Secondary outcomes

  1. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)

    Total score on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The scale ranges from 0 to 35, where higher scores indicate more severe symptoms (worse outcome).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  2. Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS)

    Total score on the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS). The OABSS is a four-item questionnaire assessing daytime frequency, nighttime frequency, urgency, and urgency incontinence. The total score ranges from 0 to 15, where higher scores indicate more severe overactive bladder symptoms (worse outcome).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  3. Quality of Life (QoL)

    The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) Quality of Life (QoL) is a single-item questionnaire that assesses the patient's perceived satisfaction with their current urinary symptoms. Patients answer the question: "If you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition just the way it is now, how would you feel about that?" The score ranges from 0 to 6, where 0 represents "delighted" and 6 represents "terrible." A higher score indicates a poorer quality of life (worse outcome).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  4. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-report questionnaire used to assess sleep quality over a one-month time interval. It consists of 19 individual items which are used to generate seven "component" scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. The sum of these seven component scores yields one global score. The global PSQI score ranges from 0 to 21, where 0 indicates no difficulty and 21 indicates severe difficulties in all areas. A higher score indicates poorer sleep quality (worse outcome).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  5. Abdominal muscle tension

    Muscle tone (tension) is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. The frequency (F) is calculated based on the oscillations of the muscle tissue after a mechanical impulse. The unit of measure is Hertz (Hz). A higher frequency indicates higher muscle tone (increased tension), which in the context of this study represents a worse outcome (abdominal tension).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  6. Abdominal muscle stiffness

    Dynamic stiffness (S) is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. Stiffness (S) represents the ability of the muscle tissue to resist an external force. The unit of measure is Newtons per meter (N/m). A higher value indicates a stiffer or more rigid muscle, representing a worse outcome (increased abdominal rigidity).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

  7. Abdominal muscle elasticity

    Muscle elasticity is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. The logarithmic decrement (D) represents the muscle's ability to recover its shape after deformation (elasticity). This is a dimensionless value. A higher decrement value indicates lower elasticity and a longer recovery time, representing a worse outcome (reduced tissue elasticity).

    Time frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jan 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 23 months after the start.

Of 34 interventional studies with no phase under Nocturia, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 37. This study's planned 23 months is above that.

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

Registered
Mar 4, 2026
First posted
May 20, 2026
StartActual
Jan 1, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
Last update
May 20, 2026
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 May 20, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07598227
Lead sponsor
Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 20, 2026
Start date
Jan 1, 2025
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
May 20, 2026

Study contacts

Yen-Lun Kung
Contact
kung818@gmail.com
+886-3-8561825

Oversight

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

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