Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation on Chronic Constipation

July 9, 2024 updated by: Yanglin Pan, Air Force Military Medical University, China

Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation on Chronic Constipation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The worldwide prevalence of chronic constipation (CC) is 15%, and women are more likely to develop the disease than men. CC have a significant impact on quality of life and increase the burden of national health insurance. The conventional medication treatments are primarily symptom-specific and have limited efficacy. Previous small sample study had shown the therapeutic potential of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). The aim of this study was to investigate whether taVNS could improve defecation condition and constipation symptoms in patients with CC.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
106

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Gansu
      • Lanzhou, Gansu, China, 730030
        • Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Lanzhou University
    • Guangdong
      • Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 518114
        • Department of Gastroenterology, National Clinical Research Center of Infectious Disease, The Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology
    • Shaanxi
      • Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, 710032
        • Endoscopic center, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases
      • Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, 710038
        • Tangdu Hospital
      • Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, 710032
        • Xijing 986 Hospita

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. FC or IBS-C patients aged 18-75 years who meet the diagnostic criteria for Rome IV;
  2. Complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) per week < 3;
  3. No constipation medication used for at least 2 weeks prior to enrollment, not participated in clinical trials in the past three months, and no abnormal colonoscopy within the past 12 months in those with alarm symptoms.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Have cognitive impairment, psychiatric disorders, or conditions that may affect patient cooperation;
  2. Have a cardiac pacemaker implantation or other electronically implanted devices;
  3. Prior taVNS treatment;
  4. History of colorectal surgery, except for simple appendectomy;
  5. Severe cardiovascular, hepatic, or renal disease;
  6. Known malignancy;
  7. Secondary constipation caused by medications and other diseases;
  8. Pregnant or lactating women;
  9. Refusal to sign an informed consent.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment group
patients will receive taVNS at left tragus for four weeks.
Device: taVNS
Patients will receive taVNS (device produced by Xi'an Bashui Health Technology Co., Ltd) thirty minutes twice a day in the morning and the night for four weeks (duty circle: 30s "on" periods and 30s "off" periods; frequency: 25 Hz; amplitude of 0-2 mA at the maximum level that the patient could tolerate; pulse width: 0.5ms)
Drug: Laxative Agent
Bisacodyl or glycerin enemas can be used in patients who do not have a bowel movement for more than 3 days.
Sham Comparator: Sham-treatment group
patients will receive sham-taVNS at left earlobe for four weeks.
Device: taVNS
Patients will receive taVNS (device produced by Xi'an Bashui Health Technology Co., Ltd) thirty minutes twice a day in the morning and the night for four weeks (duty circle: 30s "on" periods and 30s "off" periods; frequency: 25 Hz; amplitude of 0-2 mA at the maximum level that the patient could tolerate; pulse width: 0.5ms)
Drug: Laxative Agent
Bisacodyl or glycerin enemas can be used in patients who do not have a bowel movement for more than 3 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Responder rate
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Proportion of patients with an average of 3 or more complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) per week from 1 to 4 weeks
4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Responder rate at the time of the follow-up visit
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Proportion of patients with an average of 3 or more CSBMs per week from 5 to 12 weeks
8 weeks
CSBMs
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in the CSBMs
12 weeks
Spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in the SBMs
12 weeks
Abdominal symptoms
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in abdominal symptoms scores (abdominal bloating, abdominal fullness, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, abdominal cramping).
12 weeks
Bristol stool form scale (BFSF)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in the BFSF
12 weeks
Laxative agents using
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Proportion of patients using laxative agents and/or other adjunctive bowel measures at 1-12 weeks and the average number of times per week
12 weeks
Patient Assessment of Constipation symptom (PAC-SYM)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in the PAC-SYM score
12 weeks
Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life questionnaire (PAC-QOL)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in the PAC-QOL score
12 weeks
Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in SDS scores
12 weeks
Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Changes from baseline by time point in SAS scores
12 weeks
Adverse events
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Adverse events
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Air Force Military Medical University, China

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 3, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 31, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 31, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 9, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 10, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 9, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • KY20222075-F-1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Other researchers can contact PI to get IPD.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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