Effectiveness of a long-term acupuncture treatment in patients with COPD: a randomised controlled trial

We conducted a 1-year acupuncture intervention trial for patients with COPD and evaluated measures of quality of life (QOL).

This 52-week randomised clinical trial was conducted in outpatient settings at two general hospitals and two clinics in Japan from January 2013 to October 2018. 45 patients were randomly assigned to the usual care group (UG) or the acupuncture treatment group (AG). Participants were patients with COPD classified as stage II or higher according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease classification. The UG received usual care in accordance with the guidelines, and the AG received acupuncture treatment once a week for 48 times in addition to usual care. Changes in outcome measures were compared using analysis of covariance, with the total domain score from the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) measured at baseline and in week 52 as the primary outcome measure.

The 45 participants comprised 21 patients in the UG and 24 patients in the AG. In week 52, the SGRQ total domain score was significantly improved in the AG compared with the UG (mean±sd difference from baseline, -22.8±19.0 in the AG versus 6.8±13.5 in the UG; regression coefficient between groups: -26.9, 95% CI -35.8 to -17.9). No severe adverse events were reported.

This study clearly suggested the long-term effectiveness of acupuncture. Acupuncture may offer a useful adjunctive therapy to improve QOL in COPD patients.