Electroacupuncture Therapy for Treating Postherpetic Neuralgia
Condition: Postherpetic Neuralgia
MeSH terms: Neuralgia; Neuralgia, Postherpetic
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) has a high incidence rate and severely impact on quality of life
      and health care costs, interfering with physical, emotional and social functioning of
      affected patients. Current therapeutic options for PHN mainly include analgetic and local
      anaesthesia for selective nerve blockade. Nevertheless, the efficacy of analgetic is always
      limited by inevitable side effects, in which patients have poor compliance. Moreover, for
      some most suffering patients, the control of pain is often unsatisfactory despite the
      administration of complex combinations. As a non-pharmarceutical therapy, acupuncture is
      widely use for a wide range of pain conditions. Thus, it might be an alternative treatment
      for PHN. The aim of this multicenter randomized controlled trial is to investigate the
      efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture therapy in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.
    

Detailed description: 
      This randomized controlled trial will enroll 132 patients with postherpetic neuralgia. All
      patients will be randomly assigned to either the EA combined with medication group or the
      medication group via a computerized central randomization system in a 1:1 ratio. Primary
      outcomes will be change in sensory thresholds and pain intensity. Secondary outcomes will be
      change in dosage of analgetic, quality of life, anxiety and depression severity and sleep
      quality.
    

Intervention name(s): EA combined with medication; Medication
Intervention type(s): Procedure; Drug
Intervention description(s): Primary acupoints include Ashi points, Jiaji acupoints and Xi-cleft points. Jiaji points on the ipsilateral side will be selected according to the corresponding ganglia involved by HZ. Xi-cleft points will be selected based on the distribution regions of PHN. For pain sites that mainly distributed in the gallbladder meridian, GB36 will be selected. For pain sites that mainly distributed in the stomach meridian, ST34 will be selected. For pain sites that mainly distributed in the gallbladder meridian, BL63 will be selected. For pain sites that mainly distributed in the large intestine meridian, LI7 will be selected. Supplementary acupoints will be chosen based on TCM syndrome differentiation.
Operation: Two paired of acupoints are connected to the EA apparatus. EA parameter is selected as 2/100Hz wave. EA intensity is selected according to the patients' endurance. Needles will be retained and EA will last for 30 mins for each session.; The dosage of gabapentin starts from 100mg Tid. 100mg-300mg can be increased every 3-7 days and taken in three doses, but the total amount is not more than 1800mg/day. The dosage of gabapentin will be adjusted according to the patient's condition until his pain is effectively controlled. After maintaining the medication for two weeks, the dosage can be gradually reduced and 100mg can be reduced every 3-7 days.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Electroacupuncture; Postherpetic neuralgia; Pain; Randomized controlled trial; Protocol