Acupuncture for Post-Thoracotomy Pain
Completed · Phase 3 · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Lung Cancer, Pain
In brief
Pain after surgery for lung cancer (thoracotomy) may persist for years and require long-term analgesic use. Prior studies have shown that acupuncture reduces pain and medication use in the early post-operative period after abdominal surgery, suggesting that acupuncture may have a role in preventing chronic post-thoracotomy pain. This study is being done in order to determine the effects of acupuncture on pain in patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00142532
- Run by
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- People needed
- 162
- Starts
- 2005-06-01
- Expected to finish
- 2008-01-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2009-01-14
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Patients undergoing unilateral thoracotomy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)
- Age greater than or equal to 18 years old.
You may not qualify if…
- Any of the following procedures: hemiclamshell, clamshell, extrapleural approach, chest wall involvement, esophagectomy. These more extensive procedures have a higher risk of complications.
- Acupuncture treatment in the previous six weeks, to discount any persisting effect of acupuncture
- Platelets < 20,000 or International Normalized Ratio (INR) > 2.5 or absolute neutrophil count (ANC) < 0.5; though it would be unusual for any patient to be operated on with such values, it seems wise as a precautionary measure to avoid risk of bleeding from acupuncture.
- Known cardiac conditions constituting a high or moderate risk of endocarditis as defined by the American Heart Association criteria
- Patients unable to remove studs without assistance, who have no home assistance, and who are unable or unwilling to return to the hospital in the event that they decide to remove studs before the post-discharge visit.
Where it is running
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center — New York, New York, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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