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BackgroundPractitioners of complementary and alternative medicine have suggested that acupuncture could alleviate poststroke shoulder pain, based on the clinical evidence. This study protocol is aimed at showing the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture therapy for stroke survivors with shoulder pain.MethodsAfter assessing their eligibility, 60 stroke survivors with shoulder pain will be enrolled from two traditional Korean medicine hospitals and randomly divided into either the verum or the sham electroacupuncture (EA) group with a 1:1 ratio. The participants will receive 9 sessions of EA procedures for 3 weeks. The verum EA consists of needling on 6 unilateral acupoints (LI4, LI15, TE14, SI9, SI11, and GB21) with electronic stimulation. A non-penetrating Park sham device and fake electronic stimulation will be used in the sham group on the same acupoints. Patients and outcome assessors will be blinded throughout the entire study. A visual analog scale will be used primarily for the evaluation, and pain rating scale, Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper extremity, modified Ashworth scale, manual muscle test, passive range of motion test, Korean version of a modified Barthel index, and Korean version of the Beck depression inventory will be also be measured. A blinding index will be assessed. For safety, adverse events will be recorded. Data will be statistically analyzed by two-sample t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test for efficacy and a chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test for safety, at 5% of significance level.DiscussionWe expect this double-center, randomized, sham-controlled, patient- and assessor-blinded parallel trial to explore the effectiveness and safety of EA therapy, compared with sham EA, for poststroke shoulder pain.Trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03086863

Objectives : The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients admitted for Bell's palsy in a Korean medicine hospital to identify whether admission is necessary and beneficial. Methods : A semi-structured interview was conducted on 9 patients who had experience in both the inpatient and the outpatient treatment for Bell's palsy. Their experiences from inception of first symptoms to admission into the Facial Palsy Center in Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital were interviewed along with their thoughts and feelings. The interviews took place after discharge home at a pre-scheduled date and time in a quiet room at the hospital between July 2013 and August 2013. The subjects were purposefully selected until saturation of information was met. Results : Nine participants were interviewed and patients' concerns and priorities were identified. At the acute stage, patients experienced anxiety and all of the female patients and one male patient felt embarrassed of their facial disfigurement. With time, the patients felt impatient of their symptoms and turned to Korean medicine for additional treatment. Providing psychological stability seemed to be an important factor for patients. Conclusions : This study provides insight into the experiences of patients with Bell's palsy, and is significantly the first ever qualitative report to focus on the patient's needs and concerns during admission care for symptoms of Bell's palsy. Admission care can provide many physical and psychological benefits for the patients especially during the acute stage.

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