Acupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder : A randomized controlled pilot trial

• Published in: The journal of nervous and mental disease Vol. 195; no. 6; pp. 504 - 513
• Main Authors: HOLLIFIELD, Michael, SINCLAIR-LIAN, Nityamo, WARNER, Teddy D, HAMMERSCHLAG, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-06-2007; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Acupuncture - methods; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Protocols; Cognitive Therapy; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Depressive Disorder - therapy; Efficiency; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Medical treatment; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Patient Satisfaction; Pilot Projects; Post traumatic stress disorder; Prospective Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy, Group; Research Design; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy; Treatment Outcome; Treatments; Waiting Lists; Human; cognitive behavioral therapy; Cognitive therapy; RCT; Posttraumatic syndrome; Oriental medicine; Anxiety disorder; Controlled therapeutic trial; traditional Chinese medicine; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Stress; Treatment; Folk medicine; Chinese; Clinical trial; Behavior therapy; Acupuncture
• ISSN: 0022-3018; 1539-736X
• DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31803044f8

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential efficacy and acceptability of accupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People diagnosed with PTSD were randomized to either an empirically developed accupuncture treatment (ACU), a group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), or a wait-list control (WLC). The primary outcome measure was self-reported PTSD symptoms at baseline, end treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Repeated measures MANOVA was used to detect predicted Group X Time effects in both intent-to-treat (ITT) and treatment completion models. Compared with the WLC condition in the ITT model, accupuncture provided large treatment effects for PTSD (F [1, 46] = 12.60; p < 0.01; Cohen's d = 1.29), similar in magnitude to group CBT (F [1, 47] = 12.45; p < 0.01; d = 1.42) (ACU vs. CBT, d = 0.29). Symptom reductions at end treatment were maintained at 3-month follow-up for both interventions. Accupuncture may be an efficacious and acceptable nonexposure treatment option for PTSD. Larger trials with additional controls and methods are warranted to replicate and extend these findings.