Acupuncture for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Among Military Personnel

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 1

Conditions

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Treatments

Procedure: Acupuncture, using Chinese Medicine methodology

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT00320138

HO0001-051-0002

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among military personnel.

Full description

Untreated Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) leads to decreased force readiness and increased health care utilization. Yet, service members with the disorder may be resistant to traditional treatments or find them undesirable because of side-effects, stigma, and long-term commitment. Acupuncture, which has few known side effects, holds promise as an effective treatment option for PTSD. Acupuncture has been shown to improve well-being and has been successfully used to treat stress, anxiety and pain conditions. In order to test the efficacy of acupuncture for treating the symptoms of PTSD-measured by the PTSD Checklist (PCL)-a 12-week, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial will be conducted using a sample of 75 active duty military personnel. Participants will receive an eight-session acupuncture treatment, and will be evaluated throughout the study by way of clinical assessments and an independent assessing acupuncturist.

Enrollment

55 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 60 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Active duty military personnel
Criteria met for PTSD based on Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview
A stable medication dosing regimen or therapeutic treatment schedule for at least eight (8) weeks prior to beginning the study.

Exclusion criteria

Acupuncture treatment within the previous 6 months
Pain greater than or equal to level 8 on the Numeric Rating Scale for Pain
Significant head injury with loss of consciousness greater than 1 hour
Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus: fasting blood glucose >180 mg/dl
Unstable or uncontrolled endocrine disorders, thyroid disease, renal failure, anemia, hemorrhagic diathesis, renovascular disease, Cushing's disease, or hyperaldosteronism
Unwillingness on the part of participants to complete all study visits and/or the daily Life Chart
Pregnancy
Scheduled surgery during the treatment phase of the study
Medical instability sufficient to warrant inpatient treatment in the medical or intensive care units
Psychiatric symptoms sufficient to warrant inpatient treatment by the clinical care team
Psychosis within the past two years
A traumatic experience, as defined by the DSM-IV criterion A for ASD/PTSD, within the past 30 days