Actively Recruiting

Phase Not Applicable
Age: 18Years - 80Years
All Genders
ID06633666

Acupuncture for Long COVID Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: a Pragmatic, Randomized Clinical Trial

Led by Hong Kong Baptist University · Updated on 2024-11-13

160

Participants Needed

1

Research Sites

12 weeks

Total Duration

On this page

AI-Summary

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating acupuncture as a treatment for neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with long Covid, aiming to provide guidance for non-drug therapies. This pragmatic, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial will include 160 participants diagnosed by a registered Chinese medicine practitioner. The study will compare acupuncture to conventional therapy over a 12-week period to understand its effects on symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, memory loss, and insomnia. Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups: one receiving acupuncture and one receiving conventional treatment without acupuncture. The acupuncture group will have 24 sessions over 12 weeks, with treatments tailored based on traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation related to their main symptoms. Follow-up assessments will occur at week 18 to monitor changes after treatment ends. Throughout the study, participants will undergo various evaluations including cognitive testing with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), depression rating scales, insomnia severity, fatigue questionnaires, anxiety assessments, and traditional Chinese medicine symptom scales. These will be measured at baseline, during treatment at 6 and 12 weeks, and at the 18-week follow-up. The study aims to assess the impact of acupuncture on these neuropsychiatric symptoms and monitor participants' progress over time.

CONDITIONS

Brief Title

Acupuncture for Post COVID-19 Condition (Long COVID) Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

Who Can Participate

Age: 18Years - 80Years
All Genders

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible

You may qualify if you...

  • Meet the clinical diagnosis of Long COVID by the World Health Organization (WHO) with no neuropsychiatric symptoms 1 year before Covid-19 infection
  • Have at least one neuropsychiatric symptom lasting 2 months or more after testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 for at least 3 months
  • Aged between 12 and 80 years
  • Willing and able to consent and complete all assessments and study procedures
Not Eligible

You will not qualify if you...

  • History of chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms
  • Pre-existing cardiovascular diseases such as arrhythmia, heart failure, myocardial infarction, or having a cardiac pacemaker
  • Documented psychiatric illness including substance abuse
  • Suicidal tendencies or attempts within the past 12 months
  • Chronic or remote neurological disorders such as stroke, head trauma, epilepsy, or tumor
  • Participation in other clinical trials within one month
  • Pregnant or lactating females
  • Surgery within two months before or planned during the study
  • Acute brain injury or encephalopathy not caused by Covid-19
  • Open-heart surgery or cardiac arrest in the last 6 months
  • Received acupuncture treatment within one month before the study
  • Unable to complete assessment due to severe mental, cognitive, or emotional impairment

AI-Screening

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Your Study Journey

Screening

Duration - 2 to 4 weeks

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.

1 visit (in-person)

Treatment

Duration - 12 weeks

Participants in the acupuncture group receive 24 acupuncture sessions over 12 weeks, with 2 sessions per week. Participants in the control group receive conventional therapy without acupuncture.

2 visits per week for 12 weeks

Follow-up

Duration - 6 weeks

Participants are followed up to assess long-term effects of the treatment at week 18 after the treatment period ends.

1 follow-up visit at week 18

Trial Site Locations

Total: 1 location

1

Linda Zhong

Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Actively Recruiting

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Research Team

L

Linda Zhong, MD., Ph.D

How is the study designed?

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Masking

DOUBLE

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Model

PARALLEL

Primary Purpose

TREATMENT

Number of Arms

2

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Published Research Related To This Trial

Incidence, co-occurrence, and evolution of long-COVID features: A 6-month retrospective cohort study of 273,618 survivors of COVID-19.

Maxime Taquet, Quentin Dercon, Sierra Luciano...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34582441

The effectiveness of acupuncture in prevention and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting--a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Kah Bik Cheong, Ji-ping Zhang, Yong Huang...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24349293