Xiao Wang,1,* Ying Cao,2,* Jing Hu,3 Lian-Cheng Jia,4 Bo Li,3 Baoli Liu,5 Wei-Hai Yao,2 Xiao-Lu Pei,6 Wei Peng,2 Shuang Wang,2 Cun-Zhi Liu,1,7 Jian-Feng Tu,1,7 Zhi-Cheng Qu2 

1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Emergency Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Evidence Based Medicine Center, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Urinary Surgery, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5Nephrology Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 6Nursing Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 7International Acupuncture and Moxibustion Innovation Institute, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Zhi-Cheng Qu, Emergency Department, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, 23 Meishuguanhou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100010, People’s Republic of China, Email qzhch0824@163.com Jian-Feng Tu, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 11, Bei San Huan Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China, Email tujianfeng1@126.com

Introduction: Analgesia is often delayed for suspected acute renal colic due to urinary calculi (ARCUC) even in emergency department. Acupuncture has a rapid onset and is effective for analgesia, however, evidence about early-acupuncture for suspected ARCUC is limited. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of early-intervention acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture on pain relief among emergency department suspected ARCUC patients.
Methods and Analysis: A total of 84 eligible patients who are suspected diagnosed with ARCUC will be randomly allocated to the acupuncture group or the sham acupuncture group. Each patient will receive 1 session of acupuncture or sham acupuncture before diagnostic imaging. The primary outcome will be the response rate at 10 min after needle manipulation, defined as the proportion of patients whose Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score decrease by at least 50% from baseline. Secondary outcomes will include pain intensity assessed by NRS, further analgesia requirement, revisit rate, surgical intervention rate, satisfaction evaluation, and adverse events. The final diagnosis rate determined by radiography will be recorded and reported. All patients who receive randomization will be included in the intention-to-treat analysis.
Conclusion: This study’s findings are anticipated to evaluate the analgesic effect of early-intervention acupuncture for acute renal colic in emergency department, which could be useful for moving the timing of analgesia forward and aligning pain management for acute renal colic more with the guidelines.
Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR2100049069 (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=125338).

Keywords: acupuncture, complementary medicine, pain management, emergency medicine, renal colic