American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
ResearchGeneral gynecologyAcupuncture in patients with dysmenorrhea: a randomized study on clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in usual care
Section snippets
Design
The Acupuncture in Routine Care (ARC) Study was a multicenter randomized controlled trial plus a nonrandomized cohort. Patients who agreed to randomization were allocated to an acupuncture group that received immediate acupuncture treatment for 3 months or to a control group that received delayed acupuncture treatment after 3 months. Patients who declined to be randomized were included in a third arm and also received immediate acupuncture treatment (nonrandomized acupuncture group) for 3
Patient inclusion, baseline characteristics, and treatment
Between January 2001 and August 2001 a total of 656 patients with pain due to dysmenorrhea were recruited for the study by 456 study physicians (see Figure 1 for patient selection). A total of 208 patients accepted randomization and were allocated to the acupuncture or the control group. Seven patients (3 acupuncture, 4 control) could not be included in the analysis because the study office did not receive the consent form or the patients did not receive the study intervention. The remaining
Comment
Patients with pain due to dysmenorrhea chronic treated with acupuncture in addition to routine care showed significant improvements in pain intensity and quality of life compared to patients who received routine care alone. In patients who consented to randomization, treatment outcomes after acupuncture were similar to those who declined randomization. Acupuncture treatment was associated with better quality of life as well as higher costs. This increase in costs was essentially due to
Acknowledgment
We thank Katja Wruck for data management, Iris Bartsch, Beatrice Eden, and Sigrid Mank for data acquisition, the members of the advisory board (Dr Konrad Beyer, Dr Josef Hummelsberger, Dr Bodo Liecker, Hardy Müller, Dr Albrecht Molsberger, Dr Helmut Rüdinger, Dr Wolfram Stör, Dr Gabriel Stux) for helpful advice and we thank all participating physicians and patients.
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This study was funded by health insurance companies, including the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), Betriebskrankenkasse (BKK) Aktiv, Bosch BKK, DaimlerChrysler BKK, Bertelsmann BKK, BKK BMW, Siemens-Betriebskrankenkasse (SBK), BKK Deutsche Bank, BKK Hoechst, HypoVereinsbank BKK, Ford BKK, Betriebskrankenkasse der Allianz Gesellschaften, Vereins- und Westbank BKK, Handelskrankenkasse (HKK), and Innungskrankenkasse (IKK) Hamburg.
Cite this article as: Witt CM, Reinhold T, Brinkhaus B, et al. Acupuncture in patients with dysmenorrhea: a randomized study on clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in usual care. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008;198:166.e1-166.e8.