The Short-Term Effects of Acupuncture on Patients with Diabetic Gastroparesis: A Randomised Crossover Study. Issue 3 (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Guomin; Huang, Chengfei; Zhang, Xuezhu; Xie, Hui; Cheng, Haiyan; Tang, Yinshan; Li, Zhigang
• Is Part Of: Acupuncture in medicine. Volume 33:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 204
• Page End: 209
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Acupuncture -- Periodicals; 615.892
• DOI: 10.1136/acupmed-2014-010670
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0964-5284

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture may improve gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with various disorders, but its efficacy in diabetic gastroparesis is unclear. Objective: To evaluate the short-term effects of acupuncture on gastric emptying and gastroparesis symptoms in patients with diabetic gastroparesis. Methods: In a single-blind controlled crossover trial, 25 patients with diabetic gastroparesis were randomly assigned to undergo 1 week of real acupuncture (RA) treatment followed by 1 week of sham acupuncture (SA) treatment, or vice versa, with a washout of 1 month in between. Before and after each intervention, gastric retention, the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c levels were measured. Results: 21 patients completed the study. Compared with SA treatment, RA treatment was associated with significantly greater reductions in gastric retention at 2 h (−11.1±7.0%; 95% CI −13.6% to −6.2%; p<0.01) and at 4 h (−5.0±2.8%; 95% CI −6.0% to −0.2%; p=0.04) and in GCSI score (−8.0±3.4; 95% CI −8.4 to −2.8; p<0.01). There were no significant differences in FBG and HbA1c levels between RA and SA treatments. Conclusions: In patients with diabetic gastroparesis, 1 week of short-term manual acupuncture reduces gastric retention and improves gastroparesis symptoms.