NCT01189110

Auriculotherapy for Smoking Cessation: Pilot

Auriculotherapy for Smoking Cessation

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 125 (actual)
• Sponsor: US Department of Veterans Affairs · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Thirty three percent of our veterans currently smoke. Encouraging smoking cessation continues to be a top priority for the Veteran's Administration as smoking is the single most important preventable risk factor for mortality and morbidity. This study attempts to determine whether auriculotherapy may be used as an effective alternative to usual pharmacological interventions currently offered. Identifying an efficacious alternative method to nicotine patch or bupropion would be highly beneficial to veterans who want to quit smoking. This clinical trial took place at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, in conjunction with the smoking cessation clinic. One hundred twenty five veterans, male and female, age 19 or older, who smoked a minimum of 10 cigarettes per day, were evaluated for enrollment and randomized to two groups- true auriculotherapy and sham auriculotherapy in this 6 week trial.

Detailed description

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 125 veterans was conducted to determine whether aural electrical stimulation (auriculotherapy) with the Stim Flex 400A TENS unit once a week for 5 consecutive weeks is associated with a higher rate of smoking abstinence are than observed with sham stimulation.

Conditions

• Smoking Cessation

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Auriculotherapy using TENS unit Stim Flex 400A	Although the mechanism of action of auriculotherapy is not well understood, the dominant scientific theory for how traditional acupuncture procedures works has suggested possible neurophysiologic and neurochemical pathways that may explain its effectiveness for treating specific disorders

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-08-01
• Primary completion: 2011-03-01
• Completion: 2011-06-01
• First posted: 2010-08-26
• Last updated: 2015-04-28
• Results posted: 2014-04-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States