Pilot of Acupuncture to Improve Quality of Life in Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine if acupuncture improves Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms among veterans who participated in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This study will also examine the degree of veteran acceptance for acupuncture.
| Condition | Intervention |
|---|---|
|
Post-traumatic Stress Disorders Traumatic Brain Injury |
Other: Acupuncture treatment |
| Study Type: | Interventional |
| Study Design: | Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Treatment |
| Official Title: | Pilot of Acupuncture to Improve Quality of Life in Veterans With TBI and PTSD |
- SF-36 physical and mental function scores [ Time Frame: baseline, 12 weeks, 3 months post-treatment ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
| Enrollment: | 50 |
| Study Start Date: | July 2010 |
| Study Completion Date: | December 2011 |
| Primary Completion Date: | December 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) |
| Arms | Assigned Interventions |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: Arm 1
acupuncture
|
Other: Acupuncture treatment
Traditional Chinese theory explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force - known as qi or chi - believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. Acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely thin, stainless steel, sterile needles in subcutaneous tissue or muscle at strategic points on your body which correspond to the acupuncture meridians. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) interview also includes looking at the tongue and feeling the pulse before deciding on all the points to be used. For example, for an acupuncture treatment on the back, the needles would be inserted at the base of the neck, upper back, middle back and lower back.
|
|
No Intervention: Arm 2
standard care
|
Detailed Description:
Project Background: Acupuncture can be effective for many of the specific co-morbidities that make up war-related Trauma Spectrum Disorder in both TBI and PTSD patients, including pain, stress and anxiety, insomnia, somatic and post-operative pain. Recent studies find very large effect sizes (Cohen's D .85 to 1.4). Thus, there is good reason to believe that acupuncture will induce recovery across a number of trauma spectrum dysfunctions in patients with TBI and PTSD, at low cost and with little risk.
Project Objectives: The overall objective of this application is to determine the efficacy of adjunctive acupuncture for improving quality of life and function and alleviating co-morbidities associated with TBI and PTSD in service members injured in the current wars. The primary hypothesis of this study is: OIF/OEF veterans who screen positive for TBI or PTSD and are treated with a 12 week standard individualized acupuncture method will experience improved HRQL (as measured by the Veteran's SF-36) at 6, 12 and 24 week follow-up, compared to veterans randomly assigned to standard care alone.
Project Methods: This is a pilot study on veterans who screen positive for TBI or PTSD in the VA healthcare record, which is being submitted to obtain additional pilot data, confirmation of recruitment strategies, information on non-participants and larger geographic coverage by including sites where the PI already has multisite collaborations. Frequency distribution and summary statistics for demographics and baseline variables will be presented by intervention group and for all subjects combined. Key demographic variables to be summarized are: age, gender, time to deployment, number of deployments, and diagnosis. Key baseline variables are: PTSD CAPS score, VSF-36, and ANAM score. This two arm pilot study will lead to a multisite study.
Eligibility| Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 69 Years |
| Genders Eligible for Study: | Both |
| Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis or positive screen test for PTSD and/or TBI.
- Combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom conflicts.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Unable to travel to East Orange VA for 12 consecutive weeks, biweekly for treatment.
- Does not speak English.
- Acupuncture or CBT treatment within the previous six months.
Contacts and Locations| United States, New Jersey | |
| VA New Jersey Health Care System | |
| East Orange, New Jersey, United States, 07018 | |
| Principal Investigator: | Thomas W. Findley, MD PhD | VA New Jersey Health Care System |
More Information
No publications provided
| Responsible Party: | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT01060553 History of Changes |
| Other Study ID Numbers: | PPO 09-258 |
| Study First Received: | January 29, 2010 |
| Last Updated: | April 18, 2013 |
| Health Authority: | United States: Federal Government |
Keywords provided by Department of Veterans Affairs:
|
Post-traumatic stress disorders Traumatic brain injury Acupuncture Quality of life |
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
|
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injuries Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders Brain Diseases |
Central Nervous System Diseases Nervous System Diseases Craniocerebral Trauma Trauma, Nervous System Wounds and Injuries |
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 16, 2013