Efficacy and safety of electric heating moxibustion for perennial allergic rhinitis: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an IgE-mediated disease that adversely affects quality of life. Many studies report that moxibustion is an effective treatment for perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR). However, it is difficult to perform moxibustion on the face because of possible burning of the skin and the noxious effects of smoke. Electric heating moxibustion does not have these limitations. The purpose of this clinical trial is to assess the possibility of treating PAR with electric heating moxibustion and to assess the feasibility of conducting a clinical test on a larger scale. Methods This is a randomized, open-label, assessor-blind, parallel-design pilot clinical study. We will recruit 40 eligible participants and randomly allocate them into an electric heating moxibustion group or an acupuncture group at a 1:1 ratio. Patients in both groups will receive eight treatments over 4 weeks, and the final follow-up will be 4 weeks after the last treatment. Eleven acupuncture points will be used for patients in both groups (EX-HN3 and bilateral EX-HN-8, LI20, LI4, GB20, and ST36). The primary outcome measure is change in the Total Nasal Symptom Score, and the secondary outcome measures are changes in the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire, nasal endoscopy index for pattern identification, pattern identification questionnaire for AR, total IgE, eosinophil count, and adverse effects. Discussion This clinical trial will examine the effect of electric heating moxibustion on PAR. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03342105 . Registered on 14 November 2017. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-019-3550-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effects of virtual reality and acupressure interventions on pain, anxiety, vital signs and comfort in catheter extraction processes for patients undergoing coronary angiography: A randomized controlled trial

“…The acupressure‐certified researcher used the 4th point of the large intestine‐(Hegu)‐LI 4 and the 36th point of the stomach‐(Zusanli)‐ST 36, which are commonly used and have been reported to be effective in reducing pain and anxiety in acupressure interventions (Butcher et al, 2013; Ni, 2012) (see Figure 2 in Jung et al, 2019). Acupressure was applied 10 minutes prior to the femoral catheter extraction following the CAG procedure.…”