Pain Relief With Integrative Medicine (PRIMe)?: Feasibility of Acupuncture for Long COVID

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Long COVID, Pain

In brief

The goal of this preliminary study is to test methods and procedures to be used in a fully-powered trial to evaluate acupuncture treatment effectiveness. Specifically, we will test the feasibility of conducting a 2-arm randomized clinical trial for evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture for pain in patients with long COVID. Researchers will compare pain intensity and impact on general activities over 5 months in those who receive acupuncture treatment compared to patients who are receiving usual long COVID care. Participants will complete 4 online surveys at weeks 0, 4, 8, and 20. These surveys include validated mental and physical health questionnaires. Participants who are randomly selected to receive the intervention will receive 8 acupuncture treatment sessions.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06476496

Run by

University of Washington

People needed

93

Starts

2024-06-21

Expected to finish

2025-06-23

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-12

Who can join

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

You may qualify if…

• ≥ 18 years of age at the time of consent.
• Previous suspected, probable, or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, as defined by the Pan American Health Organization
• Report pain symptoms including musculoskeletal pain (joint, muscle, bone pain), chest pain, abdominal pain, headache, back pain, nerve pain, and pain in ear following a SARS-CoV-2 infection that has persisted for at least 12 weeks and is still present at the time of consent.
• Report pain intensity (0-10 scale) ≥4 in the last 7 days.28
• As of today, has been seen by a clinician in the UW Long COVID Clinic either in-person or via telehealth/virtual visit
• Able to speak and read English and provide informed consent to complete the study requirements.

You may not qualify if…

• <18 years of age at the time of consent.
• Reports absence of pain, pain for less than 12 weeks, or a pain intensity <4 over the last 7 days.
• Report baseline level of pain for those who have pre-existing chronic pain (i.e., chronic pain condition(s) present prior to COVID-19 illness AND chronic pain not worsened post-COVID).
• Already received acupuncture treatment for long COVID symptoms.
• Unable to travel to the UW Northgate Clinic once a week for 8 weeks for acupuncture treatments.
• Has seizure disorder with high risk of seizure (i.e., new diagnosis of seizure disorder and/or new medication in the last 3 months, or uncontrolled/unclear triggers for seizures).
• Is currently Pregnant
• Is receiving active cancer therapy
• Has severe neutropenia (<500 WBC) due to any cause within the last 6 months

Where it is running

• UW Medicine Primary Care at Northgate — Seattle, Washington, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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