Acupuncture for Post-hemorrhoidectomy Pain Control

The University of Hong Kong (HKU)

Status: Begins enrollment this month

Conditions: Hemorrhoid Pain; Hemorrhoidectomy; Acupuncture

Treatments: Procedure: Acupuncture

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07238504

UW 25-302

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if acupuncture improves pain control after hemorrhoidectomy in patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids. It will also learn about the safety of using acupuncture in surgical patients. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does acupuncture lower the maximal pain intensity after hemorrhoidectomy? Does acupuncture reduce analgesics requirement, length of hospital stay and quality of recovery?

Researchers will compare fully active acupuncture to a sham treatment (a look-alike procedure with minimum acupuncture stimulation) to see if active acupuncture works to improve pain control.

Participants will:

Receive acupuncture treatment for 7 times over first 5 days after surgery. Visit the clinic once 2 weeks after surgery for checkups and tests. Keep a diary of their symptoms and the number of times they take pain-killers.

Enrollment: 100 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 90 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Symptomatic grade III or IV hemorrhoids undergoing conventional hemorrhoidectomy

Exclusion criteria

1. Patients scheduled for stapled hemorrhoidopexy
2. Concomitant surgery other than conventional hemorrhoidectomy
3. Bleeding tendency, thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 100 x 10^9/L)
4. Immunocompromised status or use of chemotherapy
5. Active dermatitis
6. Patients with pacemaker or automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
7. Pregnant patients
8. Known allergy to opioids, local anaesthetic drugs, paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) including cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors
9. History of chronic pain (duration for 3 months or more)
10. Daily use of strong opioids (e.g. morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone, oxycodone, or meperidine)
11. Alcohol or drug abuse
12. Psychiatric illness
13. Impaired renal function (preoperative serum creatinine level > 120µmol/L)
14. Recent acupuncture treatment for other medical conditions

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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100 participants in 2 patient groups

Fully active acupuncture

Experimental group

Treatment:

Procedure: Acupuncture

Procedure: Acupuncture

Minimum acupuncture stimulation

Sham Comparator group

Treatment:

Procedure: Acupuncture

Procedure: Acupuncture