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Infant, Newborn, DiseasesNCT05894798

Acupuncture in Infantile Colic - A Randomised Trial.

A study testing Acupuncture in people with Infant, Newborn, Diseases and Colic, Infantile, run by Region Skane.

Withdrawn

Withdrawn. The study stopped before anyone enrolled.

Official record
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Trial summary

About 10 per cent of all new born babies in Sweden have infant colic. This may affect the the whole family and the early connection between the baby and the parents. Although, there are no effective and safe treatment. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 2 to 9 weeks
What is being tested?
Acupuncture
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
0 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Dec 2050to Dec 2060
Phase
Interventional
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 2 to 9 weeks
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Otherwise healthy infants, born in week 37 or later, aged 2 - 9 weeks who, according to diary entries, scream/whine for at least 3 hours/day for at least 3 days in the same week. The child has undergone a medical examination at BB or later with no pathological findings. The child takes no medicines or only the dietary supplement Semper Magdroppar. At least one parent understands and speaks Swedish.

Who cannot join

  • Children who have lost more than one channel on their weight curve. Children who received acupuncture

About this study

About 10 per cent of all new born babies in Sweden have infant colic. This may affect the the whole family and the early connection between the baby and the parents. Although, there are no effective and safe treatment. Acupuncture is an environmental friendly method that affects pain, anxiety, sleep and the function of gastrointestinal system. Several studies have shown various results, and there are a need for high-qualitative randomised controlled trials to investigate the proposed effect further. 128 children will be randomised into two groups; acupuncture at LI4 or no acupuncture, parents will be blinded. Statistical calculations will be performed on the content of the diaries (bowel movement frequency, crying time, feeding). Registration of crying/crying in connection with acupuncture treatment, i.e. when the needle touches the skin or later until the needle is removed and 30 seconds after.

Read the detailed description

Among all newborn babies in Sweden, about 10% have infant colic. Currently, there is no effective and safe treatment for infant colic, while there is an increase in the use of complementary methods to reduce the infant's suffering. Infant colic is defined as "crying and whining more than three hours/day more than three days/week" and affects about 10% of all newborn babies, starting when the baby is about two weeks old and usually stopping at 3-4 months of age. A complementary method used against pain in the Western world is acupuncture, a treatment method with ancient roots in Asia. It involves thin needles being inserted at specific points on the body. The needle sticks stimulate neurotransmitters, and hormones are released in the central nervous system. Acupuncture is an environmentally friendly treatment with few side effects and promotes the inherent ability to self-heal. Acupuncture has been shown in several studies to be a safe and effective method that affects pain, anxiety, sleep, and the function of the gastrointestinal system. Studies have shown both shorter crying time with lower intensity. Therefore, there is a reasonableness in acupuncture being able to alleviate infant colic. However, systematic reviews have not been able to show significant differences in symptoms between children who received acupuncture and those who did not. The reviews also described that the studies used different points on the body for treatment and that the acupuncture needles remained for various lengths of time (5-30 seconds). This led to their conclusion that more high-quality randomised studies are needed to investigate the treatment method further. Purpose To examine the effect of minimal acupuncture at a single point (LI4) on infants with colic compared to no acupuncture. Method: The parents register the baby's crying, feeding, sleep and bowel movements in a diary (appendix 1) for seven consecutive days, constituting a baseline. According to the diary registration, the infants who have colic are included and come twice a week for three weeks to a nurse at a selected child health centre (BVC). The children will be randomised into two groups; acupuncture at LI4 or no acupuncture. The parents will not know which group the child belongs to. The parents will fill in the same diary type as the baseline during the two intervention weeks. Statistical calculations will be performed on the content of the diaries (bowel movement frequency, crying time, feeding). Registration of crying/crying in connection with acupuncture treatment, i.e. when the needle touches the skin or later until the needle is removed and 30 seconds after. This registration will also be done in the control group, where the handling of children is the same but without acupuncture. Expected result This study can provide further evidence on whether acupuncture is an effective treatment method for alleviating symptoms of infant colic, as well as further highlighting any experience of pain associated with treatment. The attitude towards complementary approaches among parents with infants showing colic symptoms will also be investigated.

Being tested
Acupuncture
Keywords
Infant colic, pain, primary healthcare, gastrointestinal
Medical subject headings
Infant, Newborn, Diseases, Colic, Pain

What participants receive

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

  • AcupunctureOther

    Acupuncture at point LI 4 in the thumb grip on the upper side of the hand, bilaterally, with a sterile disposable needle of dimension 0.20 x 13 mm. The stitch is approximately three mm deep. The needle is allowed to remain in place for about 30 seconds

Study groups in NCT05894798
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
InterventionExperimentalThe acupuncture nurse holds the child by the hand and speaks to it calmly for about a minute. The children receive acupuncture at point LI 4 in the grip of the thumb on the upper side of the hand, bilaterally, with a sterile disposable needle with dimensions 0.20 x 13 mm. The stitch is approximately three mm deep. The needle is allowed to remain in place for about 30 seconds
Receives: Other: Acupuncture
ControllNo interventionThe children in the control group do not receive acupuncture. However, they spend the same amount of time with the acupuncture nurse, are addressed and are touched in the same way as the children in the intervention group, but do not get stung.

What is being measured

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

  1. Crying and screaming

    Registration of crying and screaming during the acupuncture at each visit

    Measured: During acupuncture

  2. Colic symptoms

    Change in colic symptoms during the treatment period, comparison between groups. information will be collected by the diaries the parents write during the intervention period

    Measured: Baseline to 3 weeks

Timeline

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

  1. First posted8 Jun 2023
  2. Study startDec 2050 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionDec 2060 (estimated)
  4. Study completionDec 2060 (estimated)

Why it stopped: We found no participants to include.

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 N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider
Enrolment
0 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05894798
Sponsor's protocol ID
230524
Status last verified
Jan 2026
First submitted
24 May 2023
Last updated
17 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Savino F. Focus on infantile colic. Acta Paediatr. 2007 Sep;96(9):1259-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00428.x.

    PubMed 17718777
  • Canivet C, Hagander B, Jakobsson I, Lanke J. Infantile colic--less common than previously estimated? Acta Paediatr. 1996 Apr;85(4):454-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14060.x.

    PubMed 8740304
  • Talachian E, Bidari A, Rezaie MH. Incidence and risk factors for infantile colic in Iranian infants. World J Gastroenterol. 2008 Aug 7;14(29):4662-6. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.4662.

    PubMed 18698680
  • Shamir R, St James-Roberts I, Di Lorenzo C, Burns AJ, Thapar N, Indrio F, Riezzo G, Raimondi F, Di Mauro A, Francavilla R, Leuchter RH, Darque A, Huppi PS, Heine RG, Bellaiche M, Levy M, Jung C, Alvarez M, Hovish K. Infant crying, colic, and gastrointestinal discomfort in early childhood: a review of the evidence and most plausible mechanisms. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2013 Dec;57 Suppl 1:S1-45. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0b013e3182a154ff. No abstract available.

    PubMed 24356023
  • Canivet C, Jakobsson I, Hagander B. Colicky infants according to maternal reports in telephone interviews and diaries: a large Scandinavian study. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2002 Feb;23(1):1-8. doi: 10.1097/00004703-200202000-00001.

    PubMed 11889345
  • WESSEL MA, COBB JC, JACKSON EB, HARRIS GS Jr, DETWILER AC. Paroxysmal fussing in infancy, sometimes called colic. Pediatrics. 1954 Nov;14(5):421-35. No abstract available.

    PubMed 13214956
  • Landgren K, Hallstrom I. Parents' experience of living with a baby with infantile colic--a phenomenological hermeneutic study. Scand J Caring Sci. 2011 Jun;25(2):317-24. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00829.x. Epub 2010 Aug 18.

    PubMed 20723153
  • Raiha H, Lehtonen L, Huhtala V, Saleva K, Korvenranta H. Excessively crying infant in the family: mother-infant, father-infant and mother-father interaction. Child Care Health Dev. 2002 Sep;28(5):419-29. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2214.2002.00292.x.

    PubMed 12296876
  • Ellett ML, Appleton MM, Sloan RS. Out of the abyss of colic: a view through the fathers' eyes. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2009 May-Jun;34(3):164-71. doi: 10.1097/01.NMC.0000351704.35761.f1.

    PubMed 19550259
  • Landgren K, Lundqvist A, Hallstrom I. Remembering the Chaos - But Life Went on and the Wound Healed. A Four Year Follow Up with Parents having had a Baby with Infantile Colic. Open Nurs J. 2012;6:53-61. doi: 10.2174/1874434601206010053. Epub 2012 May 2.

    PubMed 22655001
  • Savino F, Tarasco V. New treatments for infant colic. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2010 Dec;22(6):791-7. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0b013e32833fac24.

    PubMed 20859207
  • Talvik I, Alexander RC, Talvik T. Shaken baby syndrome and a baby's cry. Acta Paediatr. 2008 Jun;97(6):782-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00778.x. Epub 2008 Apr 7.

    PubMed 18397351
  • Myrhaug HT, Aas-Jakobsen E, Kjellemyr GT, Kirkehei I, Steen-Johnsen J, Havelsrud K, Helseth S. Treatment of Infant Colic [Internet]. Oslo, Norway: Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH); 2009 Jun. Report from Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services (NOKC) No. 14-2009. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK464835/

    PubMed 29320055
  • Savino F, Pelle E, Palumeri E, Oggero R, Miniero R. Lactobacillus reuteri (American Type Culture Collection Strain 55730) versus simethicone in the treatment of infantile colic: a prospective randomized study. Pediatrics. 2007 Jan;119(1):e124-30. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-1222.

    PubMed 17200238
  • Savino F, Cordisco L, Tarasco V, Palumeri E, Calabrese R, Oggero R, Roos S, Matteuzzi D. Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 in infantile colic: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2010 Sep;126(3):e526-33. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-0433. Epub 2010 Aug 16.

    PubMed 20713478

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Acupuncture in people with Infant, Newborn, Diseases and Colic, Infantile, run by Region Skane.

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: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

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.

Are results available for this study?

The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.

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?

Crying and screaming (time frame: During acupuncture). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05894798, which also lists 39 linked publications.

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 17 Feb 2026.

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