Acupuncture Augmentation for Inpatients With Major Depression Disorder

Summary

Acupuncture practice is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles of harmonization and balance, and the need to maintain unobstructed flow of energy (Qi) to attain efficient body functioning and metabolism so as to attain good mental and physical state of health. While increasing numbers of patients are seeking acupuncture treatment for depression in recent years, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture for in-hospital patients with severe depressive conditions and comorbid cognitive dysfunction, who need intensive antidepression care.

In this study, we propose a randomized clinical trial to test the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment for in-hospital patients who are suffering from major depressive disorder. A total of 84 patients will be 1:1 randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups in a single-blind randomized controlled trial. The specific intervention arm involved daily augmentation TCM-style acupuncture with manual stimulation for total 10 sessions; the control arm is consisted of patients with treatment as usual (TAU), i. e. waitlist condition who will receive standard antidepressant medication with or without psychotherapies. Patients in TAU arm will be offered one free course (total 10 sessions) of acupuncture treatment in TCM outpatient clinic after they have been discharged from the ward. All patients' depressive symptoms, cognitive function, quality of life and functioning will be assessed and compared at pre-treatment (baseline), immediately after in-hospital acupuncture treatment, one-month post-treatment and 3-month post-treatment. In addition, we will analyze the association of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with the treatment effect of acupuncture.

This study will be the first study to examine whether acupuncture is a viable augmentation treatment for in-hospital patients with depression. Expected outcomes will include determining the relative short and medium-term clinical effects from the most commonly used acupuncture treatment modalities in a local and multiethnic population.

Conditions

• Depression

Interventions

DEVICE

Acupuncture

Unilateral and bilateral acupuncture points: Du 20 and GV 29,39 MS1, MS2, MS3 and MS4,40 Location of points: Number of needles: 9 Depth of insertion: MS1, MS2, MS3: insert the needle obliquely in the frontal direction for 1 cm Du 20: insert the needle obliquely in the frontal direction for 0.5 cm GV 29: insert the needle obliquely and downward for 0.5 cm Needles retained for 20 min Needle type: Han Yi 0.25x25 mm Treatment regimen: once per day for 2 weeks

OTHER

Treatment as usual

Inpatient psychiatric care for depression

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Nanyang Technological University

  collaborator OTHER

• Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Phern Chern Tor, MBBS · Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-24

Primary Completion

2025-05-31

Completion

2025-05-31

Countries

• Singapore

Study Locations