Acupressure for Fatigue in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Stopped early · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Fatigue, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, Pain, Chronic, Quality of Life, Sleep

In brief

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by involvement of multiple organs with a female to male ratio of 12:1 with the highest incidence reported in women of child bearing age (15-44 years). In general, advances in diagnosis and management have led to significant improvements in outcomes. However, fatigue remains a challenging and prevalent issue for SLE patients. The investigators aim to determine the feasibility of recruiting and conducting acupressure in fatigued persons with lupus; to explore the effect of two distinct acupressure formulas (relaxing and stimulating) plus usual care versus sham acupressure plus usual care and usual care alone on severity and impact of chronic fatigue (as measured by the Brief Fatigue Inventory) as well as quality of life, sleep and pain.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03200548

Run by

Suzanna Zick

People needed

52

Starts

2017-08-14

Expected to finish

2019-07-19

Last updated by the study team

2023-05-12

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Report chronic (> 3 months) clinically relevant fatigue, defined as a score of ≥ 4 on the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI)
• Have inactive disease, defined as SELENA SLEDAI ≤ 4 AND/OR no hospitalization or addition or increase in dose of corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents, or antimalarial medications in the last 30 days.
• Have no commonly recognized medical explanations for fatigue (a history of cancer in the previous 5 years -except certain low risk cancer, unstable thyroid disease, moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, moderate to severe anemia)
• Are taking stable doses of anti-malarial therapy (hydroxychloroquine, quinacrine) for at least 6 months.
• Baseline glucocorticoid dose equivalent of ≤ 10 mg prednisone.
• No other planned intervention for fatigue other than current stable medication regimen

You may not qualify if…

• Pregnant or breast feeding
• Have a diagnosis of untreated mood disorder, e.g., bipolar or major depressive disorder
• Have an initiation, a cessation or change of treatment of any chronic medications, dietary supplements, behavioral therapy, physical therapy etc., or any planned change of medications, supplements or therapies during the study
• Acupuncture or acupressure receipt in past year

Where it is running

• Domino's Farms — Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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