Effect of Laser Acupuncture on Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction
August 13, 2026 updated by: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Effect of Laser Acupuncture on Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction: a Prospective Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is one of the most common complications and is a major cause of admission after intra-abdominal surgery.
To date, the ideal management of ASBO remains controversial.
The aim of this protocol designed as a double-blind randomized controlled trial is to investigate the efficacy of laser acupuncture (LA) therapy in patients with ASBO.
Study Overview
Status
Completed
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Study Type
Interventional
Enrollment (Actual)
30
Phase
- 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 Locations
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Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, 833
- Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
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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
Ages Eligible for Study
20 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged 20 to 80 years
- Clinical symptoms and signs of mechanical obstruction
Exclusion Criteria:
- Clear non-adhesive etiology of small bowel obstruction (e.g. tumor, hernia)
- Emergency surgical intervention before being admitted to the hospital
- Pregnancy
- Local skin infection on the acupoints, and limb amputees.
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: Triple
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Sham Comparator: Control group
The subjects in the control group will receive sham LA treatment, without any laser output (no stimulation) at the same acupoints used in experimental group.
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Laser acupuncture is a non-invasive therapy that involves stimulation of traditional acupoints with low-intensity, non-thermal laser irradiation.
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Experimental: LA group
The subjects in the experimental group will receive 0.375 J of energy at each of the following acupoints: LI4 (Hegu, B3), PC6 (Neiguan, B3), ST25 (Tianshu, B3), ST36 (Zusanli, B2), CV4 (Guanyuan), CV12 (Zhongwan, B3).
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Laser acupuncture is a non-invasive therapy that involves stimulation of traditional acupoints with low-intensity, non-thermal laser irradiation.
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Success rate of conservative treatment
Time Frame: 2 week
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Defined as no need for long term nasogastric tube decompression and operative intervention.
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2 week
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Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Time to oral intake
Time Frame: 2 weeks
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Defined as participants can try intake due to symptoms improved including nausea, vomiting, distension and pain.
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2 weeks
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Length of hospital stay
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
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Date from admission to discharge
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Through study completion, an average of 1 year
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Serum lipase
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum lipase
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Up to 2 weeks
|
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Serum amylase
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum amylase
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Up to 2 weeks
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Serum cortisol
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum cortisol
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Up to 2 weeks
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Serum motilin
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum motilin
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Up to 2 weeks
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Serum ghrelin
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum ghrelin
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Up to 2 weeks
|
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Serum intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP)
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
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Serum intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP)
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Up to 2 weeks
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Collaborators and Investigators
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Chun-Ting Liu, MD, Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
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.
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)
March 1, 2020
Primary Completion (Actual)
February 1, 2023
Study Completion (Actual)
February 28, 2023
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
March 16, 2020
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
March 22, 2020
First Posted (Actual)
March 24, 2020
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
August 17, 2026
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
August 13, 2026
Last Verified
March 1, 2023
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- CMRPG8K0571
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
NO
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.