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Acupuncture for Nasal Congestion in Allergic Rhinitis

NCT05709977 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 11

Last updated 2026-03-13

Study results available
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Summary

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a disorder that affects more than 500 million people worldwide. Nasal congestion is one of the most general and bothersome symptoms in rhinitis, which impacts the quality of life (QOL). Current medications are undesirable due to their side-effects and there are AR patients who perceive inadequate responses despite to advancements in conventional medicine. Acupuncture for AR in general can be considered as safe and can be seen as a potential therapeutic intervention for nasal congestion. Evidence supported that acupuncture is clinically used for signs and symptoms of nose disorders, such as nasal congestion, with effectiveness, but whether acupuncture has immediate, post-treatment and long-term effects on nasal congestion in AR is not verified by strictly designed clinical study. The ANCAR trial uses a standard treatment protocol with a fixed set of acupuncture points - to be as scientific as possible from Western medical viewpoint - to open the nose and affect underlying energetic imbalance and immunity at the same time, to maintain its nose opening effect. This novel acupuncture treatment protocol can be seen as a solid and profound approach from which every AR patient may benefit.

Conditions

  • Allergic Rhinitis

Interventions

OTHER

Acupuncture

Fixed set of acupuncture points

DRUG

Antihistamine nasal spray

Carelastin® (1 mg/ml) azelastine nasal spray

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine

    collaborator OTHER

  • Mermaid Medicine®

    collaborator OTHER

  • Johanna Maria Vermeulen

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Johanna M. Vermeulen, BSc., L.Ac. · Mermaid Medicine®

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-04-20
Primary Completion
2023-11-07
Completion
2023-12-22

Countries

  • Netherlands

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05709977 on ClinicalTrials.gov