Moxibustion for Nocturia

May 17, 2026 updated by: Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital

Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Acupoint Moxibustion for Nocturia: A Pilot Study

Nocturia, the interruption of sleep due to nighttime voiding, severely compromises quality of life, emotional health, and overall well-being when occurring twice or more per night. Given that some patients experience inadequate responses to conventional Western therapies or harbor concerns about the long-term side effects of pharmaceuticals, many are turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for alternative solutions. This study utilized a randomized clinical trial design to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupoint moxibustion for nocturia.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Nocturia, the interruption of sleep due to nighttime voiding, severely compromises quality of life, emotional health, and overall well-being when occurring twice or more per night. Given that some patients experience inadequate responses to conventional Western therapies or harbor concerns about the long-term side effects of pharmaceuticals, many are turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for alternative solutions. This study utilized a randomized clinical trial design to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupoint moxibustion for nocturia. Using voiding diaries, the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), and Quality of Life (QoL) assessments, this study aimed to provide a cost-effective and clinically feasible complementary and alternative therapy. Furthermore, the TCM constitutional characteristics of nocturia patients were analyzed through the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ) combined with evaluations of abdominal muscle tension.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Hualien City, Taiwan
        • Recruiting
        • Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 40 years or older.
  • Experiencing two or more nocturia episodes per night.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Active urinary tract infection (UTI).
  • Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (defined as HbA1c > 6.5%).
  • Presence of a neurogenic bladder caused by conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, or nerve damage resulting from major pelvic surgery.
  • Severe congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class > II).
  • Use of other Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies for nocturia symptoms within the past month (30 days).
  • Pregnant women.

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Moxibustion
Procedure: Moxibustion
Apply moxibustion on acupoint

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
frequency of nocturia
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
nocturnal urine volume
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Total score on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The scale ranges from 0 to 35, where higher scores indicate more severe symptoms (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Total score on the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS). The OABSS is a four-item questionnaire assessing daytime frequency, nighttime frequency, urgency, and urgency incontinence. The total score ranges from 0 to 15, where higher scores indicate more severe overactive bladder symptoms (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Quality of Life (QoL)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) Quality of Life (QoL) is a single-item questionnaire that assesses the patient's perceived satisfaction with their current urinary symptoms. Patients answer the question: "If you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition just the way it is now, how would you feel about that?" The score ranges from 0 to 6, where 0 represents "delighted" and 6 represents "terrible." A higher score indicates a poorer quality of life (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-report questionnaire used to assess sleep quality over a one-month time interval. It consists of 19 individual items which are used to generate seven "component" scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. The sum of these seven component scores yields one global score. The global PSQI score ranges from 0 to 21, where 0 indicates no difficulty and 21 indicates severe difficulties in all areas. A higher score indicates poorer sleep quality (worse outcome).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Abdominal muscle tension
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Muscle tone (tension) is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. The frequency (F) is calculated based on the oscillations of the muscle tissue after a mechanical impulse. The unit of measure is Hertz (Hz). A higher frequency indicates higher muscle tone (increased tension), which in the context of this study represents a worse outcome (abdominal tension).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Abdominal muscle stiffness
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Dynamic stiffness (S) is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. Stiffness (S) represents the ability of the muscle tissue to resist an external force. The unit of measure is Newtons per meter (N/m). A higher value indicates a stiffer or more rigid muscle, representing a worse outcome (increased abdominal rigidity).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Abdominal muscle elasticity
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6
Muscle elasticity is measured using the MyotonPRO digital palpation device. The logarithmic decrement (D) represents the muscle's ability to recover its shape after deformation (elasticity). This is a dimensionless value. A higher decrement value indicates lower elasticity and a longer recovery time, representing a worse outcome (reduced tissue elasticity).
Baseline and Week 3 and Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital

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)

January 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 17, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB114-009-A

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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