A clinical trial of acupuncture for treating chronic fatigue syndrome in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in Hong Kong. Methods: A single-blinded, randomized controlled trial design was adopted. Participants meeting inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to a treatment and a control group according to 1:1 ratio, resulting in an effective sample size of 99, with 50 and 49 patients in treatment and control group respectively. The same set of acupuncture points, which were selected according to traditional Chinese medicine theories, was applied in both groups, while conventional needle acupuncture was applied in treatment group and sham acupuncture (without skin penetration) was applied in control group. Schedule of treatment was the same in both groups, i. e. twice a week for 4 weeks. Key outcome measures were Chalder's Fatigue Scale, diagnostic criteria for CFS of the US's Centre for Disease Control and SF-12 health-related quality of life (HQOL) questionnaire. Adverse events, if any, were recorded. Results: Improvements in physical and mental fatigue and HQOL in both groups were observed, but the improvements in treatment group were significantly bigger than in control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). No adverse events occurred. Conclusion: Acupuncture is a safe, effective treatment for CFS.

目的:評價傳統針剌治療香港地區慢性疲勞綜臺征(chronic fatigue syndrome,CFS)的臨床療效。方法:采用單盲、隨機、對照研究方法,將99例合恪受試者按1:1比例隨機分成治療組50例和對照組49例。治療組以傳統針刺法,選取百會、足三里、三陰交穴治療;對照組以平針按穴法(針不刺入皮膚),選穴同治療組。療程共4周。每周治療2次。按照英國Trudie Chalder等制定的疲勞量表和美國疾病控制中心1994年制定的CFS診斷標準及SF-12生活質量量表,建立效應評價表,評價療效及安全性。結果:治療后兩組臨床癥狀得到改善,在身體疲勞、精神疲勞及SF-12生活質量方面,治療組優于對照組(P<0.01或P<0.05);受試者未發現不良反應。結論:針剌治療CFS安全有效。