Electro-Acupuncture for Bladder Pain Syndrome: A Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial and Study for Central Mechanism

Yunyun Xu, Yangyun Chen, Yan Shi, Jianhua Lu, Zonglin Wu, Zhe Liu, Yuerong Chen, Wenqin Ni, Qike Ding, Wei Dai, Xinyuan Wu, Jianqiao Fang, Yuanyuan Wu, Yunyun Xu, Yangyun Chen, Yan Shi, Jianhua Lu, Zonglin Wu, Zhe Liu, Yuerong Chen, Wenqin Ni, Qike Ding, Wei Dai, Xinyuan Wu, Jianqiao Fang, Yuanyuan Wu

Abstract

Objective: The efficacy of conventional treatments for treating bladder pain syndrome (BPS) remains unsatisfactory. Electro-acupuncture (EA) is one of the complementary treatments with great analgesic effect and minimal side effect, but evidence of the efficacy of EA on BPS is limited. Thus, this study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of EA for treating BPS and study on central mechanism of patients with BPS.

Methods/design: The study is a randomized controlled and assessor-blinded design trial. A total of 84 participants will be randomly assigned to medication group (n=21), EA group (n=42) and sham electro-acupuncture (SA) group (n=21) in a 1:2:1 allocation ratio. This trial will include baseline period, 4-week treatment period and 4-week follow-up period. Participants in medication group will undergo treatment of amitriptyline for a period of 4 weeks. Participants in EA and SA groups will receive a 30 min EA or SA treatment for a total of 12 sessions over 4 weeks. The primary outcome is the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes include the O'Leary-Sant questionnaire, 24-hour voiding diary, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The VAS will be collected at baseline, week 2, week 4, and week 8 after randomization. The O'Leary-Sant questionnaire, HAMA and HAMD will be assessed at baseline, week 4 and week 8 after randomization. The 24-hour voiding diary will be assessed every single day. The fMRI data will be collected at baseline and week 4.

Discussion: The results will provide evidence on the efficacy and safety of EA in the management of BPS and investigate the central mechanism of EA in treating patients with BPS.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05279963. Registered on 15 March 2022.

Keywords: bladder pain syndrome; electro-acupuncture; functional magnetic resonance imaging; randomized controlled trial.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

© 2022 Xu et al.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Locations of acupoints and non-acupoints in waist and lower limb region. The black nodes represent acupoints. The red nodes represent non-acupoints. The abbreviations and corresponding acupoints are connected by virtual lines.

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