Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Atopic Dermatitis

• Registration Number: NCT06922565
• Lead Sponsor: Shanghai Yueyang Integrated Medicine Hospital

Brief Summary

This study used a multicentre parallel three-armed randomised sham-controlled clinical trial methodology in order to objectively and normatively assess the efficacy of acupuncture on Quchi the Sea of Blood the Foot Sanli and the Sanyinjiao in the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis so as to obtain high-level evidence-based medical evidence.

This study adopts a multi-centre, parallel, three-armed, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial method, and will be conducted at Yueyang Hospital of Integrative Medicine affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, and Seventh People's Hospital affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Eligible patients with moderate-to-severe AD will be divided into three groups using stratified block randomisation in the ratio of 2:2:1: the acupuncture group, the sham-acupuncture group and the waitlisted control group. The total observation period is 9 weeks, including a 1-week introduction period, a 4-week treatment period and a 4-week follow-up period.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2025-03-31
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Study Start: 2025-04-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-04-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-03
• Study First Posted: 2025-04-10
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-10
• Primary Completion: 2026-06-01
• Study Completion: 2026-06-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 110

Inclusion Criteria

• Meet the diagnostic criteria for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis;

  • Age ≥18 and ≤75 years old gender is not limited; ③ Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS) score ≥4; ④ Voluntarily participate in this trial and sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients who are in the acute onset of the disease and have erosions exudates and secondary infections;

  • Patients who have participated in other clinical studies in the past 3 months or are participating in other clinical studies; ③ Patients with severe haematological diseases (e.g. platelet count <50×109 /L) and other serious diseases that may affect operation and efficacy;

    • Current systematic use of glucocorticosteroids discontinued for less than 7 days; immunosuppressants (cyclosporine methotrexate tretinoin etc.) discontinued for less than 1 month; dulprevirizumab discontinued for less than 1 month JAK inhibitors discontinued for less than 2 weeks;

      • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding; ⑥ Patients with a history of acupuncture treatment.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
SCORing atopic dermatitis（SCORAD）	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9), and day 56 ± 3 (V10).	SCORAD range of 0 \~ 103 points.The condition is classified as mild, moderate or severe according to the score, with the higher the score, the more severe the condition.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM)	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9), and day 56 ± 3 (V10).	Patients themselves assessed the frequency and severity of 7 symptoms occurring in the past 1 week, with each entry on a 5-point scale corresponding to a score of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Scores ranged from 0 \~ 28, with higher scores indicating greater severity.
Dermatology Life Quality Index（DLQI）	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9), and day 56 ± 3 (V10).	The questionnaire contains 10 questions. Scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating a greater impact on quality of life.
Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale（PP-NRS）	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9), and day 56 ± 3 (V10).	The PP-NRS is a patient self-report, with a score of 0 for no itching and 10 for the worst itching imaginable, with the patient scoring the worst itching experienced in the last 24 h. The PP-NRS is a patient self-report, with a score of 0 for no itching and 10 for the worst itching imaginable.
Skin Peripheral sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA)	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9).	Measured with neuECG, SKNA in µV
Serum total IgE	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9).
Peripheral blood serum cytokines（IL-4,IL-13,IL-31,IL-33,INF-α）	This indicator will be measured at baseline day 1 (V2), day 27 ± 1 (V9).