TY - JOUR A2 - Yin, Jieyun AU - Da, Nili AU - Wang, Xinjun AU - Liu, Hairong AU - Xu, Xiuzhu AU - Jin, Xun AU - Chen, Chaoming AU - Zhu, Dan AU - Bai, Jiejing AU - Zhang, Xiaoqing AU - Zou, Yangyang AU - Hu, Guangyong AU - Zhang, Jianbin PY - 2015 DA - 2015/05/03 TI - The Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture for Functional Constipation: A Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial SP - 670963 VL - 2015 AB - Background. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been reported to treat functional constipation (FC). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of EA with different needle insertion method for FC. Methods. Sixty-seven participants were randomly assigned to control (EA with shallow puncture) and EA (with deep puncture) groups. Every patient received 5 treatments per week in the first two weeks, then 3 treatments per week during the following six weeks. Complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBM), spontaneous bowel movements (SBM), Bristol stool scores (BSS), and Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) were assessed. Results. Both shallow and deep EA significantly increased CSBM frequency compared to the baseline. CSBM was increased from 0.50 ± 0.59/wk to 2.00 ± 1.67/wk with deep EA and from 0.48 ± 0.59/wk to 1.33 ± 1.09/wk with shallow EA (P < 0.05, resp.). Similar finding was noted in SBM. Deep EA was more potent than shallow EA (P < 0.05) during the treatment period. No difference was found on BSS and PAC-QOL between two groups. Conclusion. It is effective and safe with EA to treat FC. Studies with large sample size and long-term observation are needed for further investigation. SN - 1741-427X UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/670963 DO - 10.1155/2015/670963 JF - Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -