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Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine ›› 2013, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (1): 26-31.doi: 10.3736/jintegrmed2013005

Special Issue: Acupuncture & Moxibustion

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Acceptability of an acupuncture intervention for geriatric chronic pain: An open pilot study

Marie-France Couilliota,b(), Véronique Dareesc, Gérard Delahayea, Philippe Ercolanoa, Maud Carcailléa, Pavla Vytopilovaa, Bruno Tenenbauma, Eric Vicautd   

  1. a. Public Health Department, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, 75001 Paris, France
    b. Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux Sociaux, Université Paris 13, 93017 Bobigny, France
    c. Palliative Care, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, 75001 Paris, France
    d. Unité de Recherche Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire SLS-LRB, Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, 75001 Paris, France
  • Received:2012-03-07 Accepted:2012-05-23 Online:2013-01-10 Published:2013-01-15

Objective

This study investigated the acceptability and effectiveness of acupuncture for persistent musculoskeletal pain in the elderly and assessed the conditions for a future controlled trial.


Methods

A total of 60 patients, hospitalized in a geriatric hospital were enrolled. The intervention consisted of eight acupuncture sessions. The main outcome was the patient’s participation rate. Regarding pain, the evaluation was based on pre- and post-treatment variations. As a high proportion of the patients had cognitive impairment, the behavioral pain scale DOLOPLUS-2 was chosen although self evaluation was used wherever possible.


Results

The mean age of the patients was 83 years. The acceptance rate was very high (89.6%) and 90% of the patients completed the entire course of treatment. After five weeks, the mean DOLOPLUS score had decreased significantly (P<0.01). The patients reported improved sleep quality and a reduction in their anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, caregivers noticed a decrease in patient aggressiveness making care easier.


Conclusion

Our results suggest that acupuncture is highly acceptable and could be very useful in the management of chronic pain when performed in very old frail people with chronic physical and mental disability.


Trial Registration Identifier

NCT01043692 ClinicalTrials.gov.

Key words: Acupuncture, Pain, Aged, Pain measurement, Pilot projects

Figure 1

Mean DOLOPLUS scores as a function of treatment sessionsV0: baseline; V5bis: after five sessions; V8bis: after eight sessions; V9: two weeks following the acupuncture; V10: four weeks following the acupuncture."

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