Acupuncture for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Investigation of a needle puncture control
Item
Title
Acupuncture for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Investigation of a needle puncture control
Author(s)
Journal Publication
Date
1995
volume
12(3)
pages
195-205
Research Type
RCT
Keywords
Abstract
We conducted a 6-week, single-blind study of acupuncture for cocaine dependence in methadone-maintained patients (N = 40) for the purpose of identifying an appropriate needle puncture control for use in future large-scale clinical trials. Patients were randomly assigned to receive daily acupuncture in three auricular sites plus one body site (LI-4), or in control sites within 2-3 mm of the four active sites. Overall, there was a positive response to treatment on a variety of drug-related and psychosocial measures. Cocaine use decreased significantly for patients in both needle puncture groups. The only statistically significant difference between the two types of needle puncture was on ratings of craving. Subjects rated each type of needle puncture as equally credible and perceived no significant differences on the acute effects of the two types of needle insertions. Power calculations based on these findings suggest that very large sample sizes would be required to detect treatment differences between this control condition and active acupuncture. Alternative controls are suggested, and the challenges inherent in implementing controlled clinical trials of acupuncture are discussed
View on Pubmed
has health condition studied
Substance-Related Disorders
plan
>1/WK
has study population number
40
has duration
6 Weeks