ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07664826AcuGagDiffUpdated Jun 24, 2026

Acupuncture Mechanism in Relief of Gag Reflex

An interventional study of Acupuncture in Gag (Pharyngeal) Reflex, sponsored by University Medicine Greifswald. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 40 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-24.

Sponsored by University Medicine Greifswald · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Aug 2026, 3 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Registered 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2026, registered Jun 2026).
  • Started Jan 2026; still recruiting 9 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 40 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The gag reflex relief effect of acupuncture of CV24 acupoint will be compared to acupuncture of PC6 and K3 acupoints in healthy volunteers in crossover mode. Second step will be the investigation whether local anesthesia using EMLA creme will block the gag relief effect of CV24 acupuncture in healthy volunteers.

02

Conditions studied

  • Gag (Pharyngeal) Reflex
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University Medicine Greifswald is the lead sponsor of 152 studies on the registry; 22 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 40 Years
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

  1. Healthy volunteers aged between 20-40 years old with an physical status of I to II naïve to acupuncture
  2. Participants without previous opioid and psychotropic medication
  3. Without use of recreational drugs 3 days prior to study sessions
  4. Without systemic disease or local skin lesions at the sites of acupuncture
  5. Without drug allergy to local anesthetics, especially EMLA preparation
  6. Participants who have given written

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Local skin infection at the sites of acupuncture
  2. Aged \< 20 or > 35 years
  3. History of drug allergy to local anesthetics
  4. Participants who are unable to understand the consent form or to use numeric rating scale NRS-11

Discontinuation Criteria

  1. Any adverse effects during study session
  2. In case of local or systemic infection
  3. In case if subject will withdraw from participation in this study at any time, for any reason, specified or non-specified, and without penalty or loss of benefits
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.

ASA physical status

The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    CV24

    Needling of acupoint PC6

    Other: Acupuncture

  • Active comparator
    PC6

    Needling of acupoint PC6

    Other: Acupuncture

  • Active comparator
    K3

    Needling of acupoint K3

    Other: Acupuncture

Interventions

  • OtherAcupuncture

    Needling of acupoints CV24, PC6 and K3

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Length of saliva injector insertion (cm)

    Saliva injector is inserted intraoral slowly until the gagging (pharyngeal reflex) is elicited; the length of insertion of saliva injector will be measured in centimeters

    Time frame: Day 1 ( before and after acupuncture)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Severity of gagging, measured using the Numeric Rating Scale NRS-11 (0=no gagging; 10=maximal)

    Time frame: Day 1 ( before and after acupuncture)

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Corresponding author will share the anonymized, statistically calculated data on request after publication of the results

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form, Clinical study report

Time frame: After publication of study results

Access criteria: On request via email contact to the corresponding author

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 24, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07664826
Responsible party
Taras Usichenko (Prof. Dr. med., University Medicine Greifswald) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 24, 2026
Start date
Jan 21, 2026
Primary completion
Aug 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 24, 2026

Study contacts

Taras I Usichenko, Prof. Dr. med., MD, PhD
Contact
tarasik@me.com
+49 (0) 3434864028

Oversight

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

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