Acupuncture for treating dry eye: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for ocular symptoms, tear film stability and tear secretion in dry eye patients. Methods: This is a randomized, patient-assessor blinded, sham acupuncture controlled trial. Forty-two participants with defined moderate to severe dry eye underwent acupuncture treatment three times a week for 3 weeks. Seventeen standard points (GV23; bilateral BL2, GB14, TE23, Ex1, ST1 and GB20; and unilateral SP3, LU9, LU10 and HT8 on the left for men and right for women) with 'de qi' manipulation for the verum acupuncture group and seventeen sham points of shallow penetration without other manipulation for the sham group were applied during the acupuncture treatment. Differences were measured using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI), the visual analogue scale (VAS) of ocular discomfort, the tear film break-up time (BUT) and the Schimer I test with anaesthesia. In addition, adverse events were recorded. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between results on the OSDI, VAS, BUT or Schimer I tests from baseline between the verum and sham acupuncture groups. However, results from the within-group analysis showed that the OSDI and VAS in both groups and the BUT in the verum acupuncture group were significantly improved after 3 weeks of treatment. No adverse events were reported during this trial. Conclusion: Both types of acupuncture improved signs and symptoms in dryeye patients after a 4-week treatment. However, verum acupuncture did not result in better outcomes than sham acupuncture.

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Dry Eye: A Multicenter Randomised Controlled Trial with Active Comparison Intervention (Artificial Teardrops)

“…We previously conducted a case study to test the validity and availability of acupuncture [27] and an RCT using sham acupuncture as a control to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for dry eye syndrome [13]. From the results of these studies, we designed a clinical trial adopting an active control for assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture with a sufficient number of subjects for statistical analyses [10].…”

“…The necessary sample size was calculated from the results of previous studies regarding the effects of acupuncture [11], [13] and artificial tears [14]. The mean difference (standard deviation) of ocular surface disease index (OSDI) after acupuncture treatment was 17.61 (15.61), and after artificial tears (sodium carboxymethylcellulose), it was 11.3 (6.3) [13], [14]. Anticipating a 20% dropout rate, a total of 150 participants was recruited and was evenly assigned to each centre (50 participants in each centre).…”

Proteomic analysis of tears following acupuncture treatment for menopausal dry eye disease by two-dimensional nano-liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

“…8 For example, acupuncture was found to improve the signs and symptoms of dry eye in patients after 4 weeks of treatment. 9 However, the effectiveness and mechanisms of acupuncture on postmenopausal dry eye have not yet been reported. In this trial, we aimed to investigate whether acupuncture is effective at treating dry eye among postmenopausal women and to identify the possible mechanisms.…”

Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography for Monitoring the Lower Tear Meniscus in Dry Eye after Acupuncture Treatment

“…For all the subjects, the acupuncture group achieved significant improvements in the tear meniscus parameters including TMH, TMD, and TMA and clinical parameters including OSDI score, TBUT, CFS, and S1T values compared with the control group. Recent randomized controlled studies in the use of acupuncture in dry eye have been published, with some favourable results [7, 8, 11, 12], which had demonstrated a significant improvement of OSDI score and TBUT, CFS, and S1T values after acupuncture treatment. In this respect, our present study provided more evidences to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for dry eye patients.…”