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Acupuncture AnalgesiaPhase 1/2NCT00261755

Acupuncture as Pain Relief and Relaxation During Childbirth

A Phase 1/2 study testing Acupuncture, TENS and Traditional Group in people with Acupuncture Analgesia and Natural Childbirth, run by University of Aarhus at 1 site in Denmark.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of acupuncture for pain relief and relaxation during childbirth. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Acupuncture Analgesia, Natural Childbirth
What is being tested?
Acupuncture, TENS and Traditional Group
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
607 participants
Where
1 siteDenmark
Study dates
Mar 2001to May 2004
Phase
Phase 1/2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • Women only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Healthy, Danish speaking women with a normal singleton pregnancy giving birth at term 37 - 42 weeks) with a fetus in cephalic presentation.

Who cannot join

  • Women with medical diseases or complicated pregnancy. Women who has already received conventional analgesia during labor.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Denmark1 site
  • Dept Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby

    Aarhus, 8200

Other trials in Denmark

About this study

Official title: Acupuncture as Pain Relief and Relaxation During Childbirth. A Randomized Controlled Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of acupuncture for pain relief and relaxation during childbirth.

Read the detailed description

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of acupuncture for pain relief an relaxation during childbirth.

In a controlled study 607 healthy patients in active labor at term are randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture, TENS or traditional analgesia. Pharmacological analgesia is provided on request. The treatment is administered by midwives trained in acupuncture and TENS. The objective parameter of outcome is the need for conventional analgesia in each group. Visual analogue scale assessments are used to evaluate participants perception of pain before, during and after treatment. Questionnaires filled out two months after delivery is used to investigate the patients experience and satisfaction with delivery and analgesia.

Being tested
Acupuncture, TENS, Traditional Group
Keywords
Acupuncture, pain relief, labour, randomized controlled trial, TENS

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • AcupunctureProcedure or surgery

    Based on international experiences and experiences from the pilot project 34 specified acupuncture points could be used.Treatment was individualised according to the woman's mobility and localization of pain. Needles were sterile stainless steel acupuncture needles in three lengths: 0.20 x 15 mm, 0.30 x 30 mm and 0.35 x 50 mm. No electric stimulation was used. The duration of needling could vary from 30 minutes to two hours and could be repeated. The needles were removed if the patient felt uncomfortable or in cases with obstetric pathology.

  • TENSOther

    The Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS treatment) was carried out using a B.C - TENS 120Z unit. Two to four electrodes were placed on the skin of the lower back. The units were set in constant mode, initially with a pulse width of 60 micro-seconds and a pulse rate of 100 pulses per second. The treatment lasted from 20 to 45 minutes and could be repeated. The intensity of stimulation could be adjusted by the woman or the midwife.

  • Traditional GroupOther

    Also called Tratitional analgesic

    All analgesic methods available (Sterile water papules, nitro oxygen, bath tub, pethidine and epidural analgesics (EDA)). A specific analgesic was chosen by the woman and the midwife after informed choice.

Study groups in NCT00261755
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Acupuncture GroupExperimentalAcupuncture treatment during labor
Receives: Procedure: Acupuncture
TENS GroupActive comparatorTranscutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS treatment)during labor
Receives: Other: TENS
Traditional GroupActive comparatorTraditional pain treatment during labor
Receives: Other: Traditional Group

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. The need for conventional analgesic in each group.

    Measured: during labor

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Obstetric outcome: duration of labour, use of oxytocin, incidence of caesarean section, bleeding, apgar score, cord blood pH

    Measured: from randomization until birth

  2. visual analogue scale is used to evaluate subjective effect on pain.

    Measured: Just before randomization, one hour after randomization and subsequently every two hours until the child was born

  3. Questionaries filled out by the parturients to investigate satisfactory with analgesic given.

    Measured: two months after delivery

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted5 Dec 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startMar 2001
  3. Primary completionFeb 2004
  4. Study completionMay 2004

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1/2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
607 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00261755
Sponsor's protocol ID
Akupunktur2001-41-1305
Status last verified
May 2008
First submitted
2 Dec 2005
Last updated
7 May 2008
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1/2 study testing Acupuncture, TENS and Traditional Group in people with Acupuncture Analgesia and Natural Childbirth, run by University of Aarhus at 1 site in Denmark.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 May 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Denmark. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

The need for conventional analgesic in each group. (time frame: during labor). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 May 2008.

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