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Effect of minimal acupuncture for infantile colic : A multicentre, three-armed, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (ACU-COL)

Landgren, Kajsa LU and Hallström, Inger LU (2017) In Acupuncture in Medicine 35. p.171-179
Abstract

Background Evidence for treating infantile colic with acupuncture is contradictory. Aim To evaluate and compare the effect of two types of acupuncture versus no acupuncture in infants with colic in public child health centres (CHCs). Methods A multicentre, randomised controlled, single-blind, three-armed trial (ACU-COL) comparing two styles of acupuncture with no acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard care, was conducted. Among 426 infants whose parents sought help for colic and registered their child's fussing/crying in a diary, 157 fulfilled the criteria for colic and 147 started the intervention. All infants received usual care plus four extra visits to CHCs with advice/support (twice a week for 2 weeks), comprising gold standard... (More)

Background Evidence for treating infantile colic with acupuncture is contradictory. Aim To evaluate and compare the effect of two types of acupuncture versus no acupuncture in infants with colic in public child health centres (CHCs). Methods A multicentre, randomised controlled, single-blind, three-armed trial (ACU-COL) comparing two styles of acupuncture with no acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard care, was conducted. Among 426 infants whose parents sought help for colic and registered their child's fussing/crying in a diary, 157 fulfilled the criteria for colic and 147 started the intervention. All infants received usual care plus four extra visits to CHCs with advice/support (twice a week for 2 weeks), comprising gold standard care. The infants were randomly allocated to three groups: (A) standardised minimal acupuncture at LI4; (B) semistandardised individual acupuncture inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine; and (C) no acupuncture. The CHC nurses and parents were blinded. Acupuncture was given by nurses with extensive experience of acupuncture. Results The effect of the two types of acupuncture was similar and both were superior to gold standard care alone. Relative to baseline, there was a greater relative reduction in time spent crying and colicky crying by the second intervention week (p=0.050) and follow-up period (p=0.031), respectively, in infants receiving either type of acupuncture. More infants receiving acupuncture cried <3 hours/day, and thereby no longer fulfilled criteria for colic, in the first (p=0.040) and second (p=0.006) intervention weeks. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions Acupuncture appears to reduce crying in infants with colic safely.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Acupuncture in Medicine
volume
35
pages
171 - 179
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:28093383
  • wos:000407905400002
  • scopus:85011082002
ISSN
0964-5284
DOI
10.1136/acupmed-2016-011208
project
LUC3 - Lund University Child Centered Care
Promoting early childhood health; supporting parents, vulnerable children and challenged families
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f7d33a9b-6c35-4a1b-8d9f-feb473e84787
date added to LUP
2017-02-21 15:44:24
date last changed
2024-02-29 09:24:20
@article{f7d33a9b-6c35-4a1b-8d9f-feb473e84787,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background Evidence for treating infantile colic with acupuncture is contradictory. Aim To evaluate and compare the effect of two types of acupuncture versus no acupuncture in infants with colic in public child health centres (CHCs). Methods A multicentre, randomised controlled, single-blind, three-armed trial (ACU-COL) comparing two styles of acupuncture with no acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard care, was conducted. Among 426 infants whose parents sought help for colic and registered their child's fussing/crying in a diary, 157 fulfilled the criteria for colic and 147 started the intervention. All infants received usual care plus four extra visits to CHCs with advice/support (twice a week for 2 weeks), comprising gold standard care. The infants were randomly allocated to three groups: (A) standardised minimal acupuncture at LI4; (B) semistandardised individual acupuncture inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine; and (C) no acupuncture. The CHC nurses and parents were blinded. Acupuncture was given by nurses with extensive experience of acupuncture. Results The effect of the two types of acupuncture was similar and both were superior to gold standard care alone. Relative to baseline, there was a greater relative reduction in time spent crying and colicky crying by the second intervention week (p=0.050) and follow-up period (p=0.031), respectively, in infants receiving either type of acupuncture. More infants receiving acupuncture cried &lt;3 hours/day, and thereby no longer fulfilled criteria for colic, in the first (p=0.040) and second (p=0.006) intervention weeks. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions Acupuncture appears to reduce crying in infants with colic safely.</p>}},
  author       = {{Landgren, Kajsa and Hallström, Inger}},
  issn         = {{0964-5284}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{171--179}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Acupuncture in Medicine}},
  title        = {{Effect of minimal acupuncture for infantile colic : A multicentre, three-armed, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (ACU-COL)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2016-011208}},
  doi          = {{10.1136/acupmed-2016-011208}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}