TY - JOUR
T1 - Acupuncture for treatment of uncontrolled pain in cancer patients
T2 - A pragmatic pilot study
AU - Garcia, M. Kay
AU - Driver, Larry
AU - Haddad, Robin
AU - Lee, Richard
AU - Palmer, J. Lynn
AU - Wei, Qi
AU - Frenkel, Moshe
AU - Cohen, Lorenzo
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support was provided in part by the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant CA121503, the NCI Cancer Center Support Grant CA016672, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - Purpose. Pain control is an ongoing challenge in the oncology setting. Prior to implementing a large randomized trial at our institution, we investigated the feasibility, safety, and initial efficacy of acupuncture for uncontrolled pain among cancer patients. Hypotheses. Our hypotheses were that the acupuncture treatments provided would be (a) feasible, (b) safe, and (c) a beneficial adjunct to pain management. Study Design. This was a single arm, nonrandomized pragmatic pilot study. Methods. Participants experiencing pain ≥4 on a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale received a maximum of 10 treatments on an individualized basis. Recruitment, attrition, compliance, and adverse events (AEs) were assessed. Pain (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form), quality of life (MD Anderson Symptom Inventory [MDASI]), and patient satisfaction were assessed at baseline and at the end of treatment. Results. Of 115 patients screened, 52 (45%) were eligible and agreed to participate. Eleven (21%) were lost to follow-up, leaving 41 who completed all study procedures. No AEs were reported. Mean pain severity was 6.0 ± 1.3 at baseline and 3.8 ± 2.0 at follow-up (P <.0001). Pain interference was 6.2 ± 2.3 at baseline and 4.3 ± 2.8 at follow-up (P <.0011). On the MDASI, the mean symptom severity was 4.6 ± 1.8 at baseline and 3.2 ± 1.9 at follow-up (P <.0001), and mean symptom interference was 5.8 ± 2.4 at baseline and 4.1 ± 2.9 at follow-up (P <.002). Prescribed pain medications decreased across the course of the study. Patient satisfaction was high: 87% reported that their expectations were met "very well" or "extremely well"; 90% said they were likely to participate again; 95% said they were likely to recommend acupuncture to others; and 90% reported they found the service to be "useful" or "very useful." Conclusions. Acupuncture was feasible, safe, and a helpful treatment adjunct for cancer patients experiencing uncontrolled pain in this study. Randomized placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.
AB - Purpose. Pain control is an ongoing challenge in the oncology setting. Prior to implementing a large randomized trial at our institution, we investigated the feasibility, safety, and initial efficacy of acupuncture for uncontrolled pain among cancer patients. Hypotheses. Our hypotheses were that the acupuncture treatments provided would be (a) feasible, (b) safe, and (c) a beneficial adjunct to pain management. Study Design. This was a single arm, nonrandomized pragmatic pilot study. Methods. Participants experiencing pain ≥4 on a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale received a maximum of 10 treatments on an individualized basis. Recruitment, attrition, compliance, and adverse events (AEs) were assessed. Pain (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form), quality of life (MD Anderson Symptom Inventory [MDASI]), and patient satisfaction were assessed at baseline and at the end of treatment. Results. Of 115 patients screened, 52 (45%) were eligible and agreed to participate. Eleven (21%) were lost to follow-up, leaving 41 who completed all study procedures. No AEs were reported. Mean pain severity was 6.0 ± 1.3 at baseline and 3.8 ± 2.0 at follow-up (P <.0001). Pain interference was 6.2 ± 2.3 at baseline and 4.3 ± 2.8 at follow-up (P <.0011). On the MDASI, the mean symptom severity was 4.6 ± 1.8 at baseline and 3.2 ± 1.9 at follow-up (P <.0001), and mean symptom interference was 5.8 ± 2.4 at baseline and 4.1 ± 2.9 at follow-up (P <.002). Prescribed pain medications decreased across the course of the study. Patient satisfaction was high: 87% reported that their expectations were met "very well" or "extremely well"; 90% said they were likely to participate again; 95% said they were likely to recommend acupuncture to others; and 90% reported they found the service to be "useful" or "very useful." Conclusions. Acupuncture was feasible, safe, and a helpful treatment adjunct for cancer patients experiencing uncontrolled pain in this study. Randomized placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.
KW - acupuncture
KW - cancer
KW - complementary medicine
KW - integrative medicine
KW - pain
KW - symptom management
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U2 - 10.1177/1534735413510558
DO - 10.1177/1534735413510558
M3 - Article
C2 - 24282103
AN - SCOPUS:84894430124
SN - 1534-7354
VL - 13
SP - 133
EP - 140
JO - Integrative cancer therapies
JF - Integrative cancer therapies
IS - 2
ER -