Skip to content

Pediatric Laser Acupuncture and Renal Biopsy

Efficacy of Laser Therapy as an Adjuvant Treatment During Kidney Biopsies to Decrease Anxiety and Pain.

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01879826
Enrollment
81
Registered
2013-06-18
Start date
2013-07-31
Completion date
2015-11-30
Last updated
2020-01-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anxiety, Pain

Keywords

Aculaser, Microlight ML830, Kidney biopsy, Pain, Anxiety, Sedation

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to test if treatment with laser therapy in pediatric patients undergoing renal biopsies will improve patient satisfaction of the overall procedure. In this study, the participant will receive a laser acupuncture treatment targeting either kidney acupoints or targeting sham points not associated with the kidney; the participant will not get both. Both treatment sessions are given by a certified medical acupuncturist. The patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure. All medication will be administered without regard for which group the participant has been randomized, as the treatment team will also be blinded. Hypothesis: We will test the hypothesis that treatment with laser acupuncture in patients undergoing renal biopsies will improve patient satisfaction of the overall procedure. Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: Determine whether the use of laser acupuncture improves patient's overall satisfaction of renal biopsy. Specific Aim 2: Determine whether the use of laser acupuncture decreases the amount of sedative medication given during renal biopsy.

Detailed description

At University of California San Francisco, there are approximately 100 pediatric renal biopsies per year. All of these patients receive sedation, which is prescribed and supervised by the pediatric pain and palliative care team, with either ketamine or fentanyl and versed. Child life is involved; however, many children still experience anxiety and/or pain with the procedure. Use of a modality such as aculaser which may decrease these symptoms could enhance their experience. The term laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. In laser acupuncture, a low power, cold light produced by a low-level laser diode is used to stimulate an acupuncture point. As it is non-invasive, laser acupuncture is thought to be safer than needle acupuncture, especially in the setting of patients with blood-borne infectious diseases. In a systematic review analyzing the evidence to support the effectiveness of laser acupuncture, randomized control trials in which adults with soft tissue injury, acute or chronic pain condition, or any systemic illness were included. This review reports moderate level of evidence for treatment of myofascial pain and post-operative nausea/vomiting and limited evidence of the clinical effectiveness of treating chronic tension headaches. Of note, no complications of the use of aculaser were reported in this review (1). 1\. Baxter GD, Bleakley C, McDonough S. Clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture: a systematic review. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2008 Dec;1(2):65-82.

Interventions

DEVICEAculaser applied to kidney points

The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to known kidney acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure.

DEVICEAculaser applied to sham points

The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to sham acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure.

Sponsors

University of California, San Francisco
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
7 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* older than 6 years old * admitted for a transplant or native kidney biopsy performed by pediatric nephrology

Exclusion criteria

* Prisoners * Pregnant females * Those who are unable to participate with the visual analog scale

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient Pain/Anxiety1 dayThe patient will complete a visual analog scale (rate 0-10) to assess pain after the procedure. Zero is no pain and 10 is worse pain. Change was calculated by baseline minus day one.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Parent Perception of Patient Pain Report1 dayParent Perception of Patient Pain, scale is from 0 to 10, minimum value is 0, maximum value is 10, higher scores mean better outcome.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Aculaser Applied to Sham Points
The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to sham acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure. Aculaser applied to sham points: The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to sham acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure.
41
Aculaser Applied to Kidney Points
The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to known kidney acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure. Aculaser applied to kidney points: The patient will receive aculaser, performed by licensed acupuncturist, to known kidney acupuncture sites. In addition, the patient will still receive standard pain control protocols with anesthetic medications like lidocaine plus ketamine or fentanyl and versed during the biopsy, along with pain management after the procedure.
40
Total81

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicAculaser Applied to Sham PointsAculaser Applied to Kidney PointsTotal
Age, Customized
7-25 years
41 participants40 participants81 participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
41 participants40 participants81 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
14 Participants17 Participants31 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
27 Participants23 Participants50 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 410 / 40
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 410 / 40

Outcome results

Primary

Patient Pain/Anxiety

The patient will complete a visual analog scale (rate 0-10) to assess pain after the procedure. Zero is no pain and 10 is worse pain. Change was calculated by baseline minus day one.

Time frame: 1 day

Population: Number of participants in the final analysis were included.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Aculaser Applied to Sham PointsPatient Pain/Anxiety-0.5 units on a scaleStandard Error 0.5
Aculaser Applied to Kidney PointsPatient Pain/Anxiety0.8 units on a scaleStandard Error 0.4
p-value: 0.044t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Parent Perception of Patient Pain Report

Parent Perception of Patient Pain, scale is from 0 to 10, minimum value is 0, maximum value is 10, higher scores mean better outcome.

Time frame: 1 day

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Aculaser Applied to Sham PointsParent Perception of Patient Pain Report0.3 units on a scaleStandard Error 0.5
Aculaser Applied to Kidney PointsParent Perception of Patient Pain Report2.3 units on a scaleStandard Error 0.8
p-value: 0.04t-test, 2 sided

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026