Acupuncture for Pain During Injection of Local Anaesthetic

Acupuncture Reduces Pain and Autonomous Distress During Injection of Local Anaesthetic in Children - a Randomised Crossover Investigation

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02197546

Acronym

AcuDent

Enrollment

Registered

2014-07-22

Start date

2010-07-31

Completion date

2011-11-30

Last updated

2014-07-22

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

Conditions

Distress, Pain, Satisfaction

Keywords

Injection pain, local anesthesia, acupuncture

Brief summary

Stimulation of acupoint LI4 has been shown to result in analgesic effects in patients experiencing acute pain. We aimed to determine whether LI4 acupuncture could reduce pain and distress in children receiving an injection of a local anaesthetic (LA). Children scheduled for dental treatment using local anesthesia as a standard treatment, received bilateral acupuncture at LI4 using indwelling fixed needles. During the treatment, the parents of the patients stimulated the needles by massage. Two different treatment regimes were compared: a standardized LA injection given 5 minutes after acupuncture, and an LA injection without acupuncture. The order of treatment was randomised, with the two treatments performed on different days. Pain intensity during LA injection, assessed by the patient with the Verbal Rating Scale or Faces Pain Scale (0-10), was used as the primary endpoint. Parent- and dentist-assessed pain intensity and agitation, heart rate, and the patients' satisfaction with the received therapy were also recorded.

Interventions

OTHERAcupuncture & acupressure

Bilateral acupuncture with indwelling fixed needles 1.5 mm length with subsequent acupressure by the parents

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

4 Years to 17 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* children with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of I or II * scheduled for at least two dental treatments for caries requiring local anaesthesia

Exclusion criteria

* history of analgesic medication, psychiatric disease, or local or systemic infection * necessity to change their treatment schedule

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
pain intensity	3 time points during one day of investigation

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
pain intensity assessed by the parents and by physicians	4 time points during one day of investigation

Other

Measure	Time frame
heart rate	5 time points during one days of investigation

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

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