TY  - JOUR
T1  - German acupuncture trials (gerac) for chronic low back pain: Randomized, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups
AU  - Haake M, MüLler H, Schade-Brittinger C, et al
Y1  - 2007/09/24
N1  - 10.1001/Archinte.167.17.1892
JO  - Archives of Internal Medicine
SP  - 1892
EP  - 1898
VL  - 167
IS  - 17
N2  - Background 
    To Our Knowledge, Verum Acupuncture Has Never Been Directly Compared With Sham Acupuncture And Guideline-Based Conventional Therapy In Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain.Methods 
    A Patient- And Observer-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial Conducted In Germany Involving 340 Outpatient Practices, Including 1162 Patients Aged 18 To 86 Years (Mean ± Sd Age, 50 ± 15 Years) With A History Of Chronic Low Back Pain For A Mean Of 8 Years. Patients Underwent Ten 30-Minute Sessions, Generally 2 Sessions Per Week, Of Verum Acupuncture (N = 387) According To Principles Of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Sham Acupuncture (N = 387) Consisting Of Superficial Needling At Nonacupuncture Points; Or Conventional Therapy, A Combination Of Drugs, Physical Therapy, And Exercise (N = 388). Five Additional Sessions Were Offered To Patients Who Had A Partial Response To Treatment (10%-50% Reduction In Pain Intensity). Primary Outcome Was Response After 6 Months, Defined As 33% Improvement Or Better On 3 Pain-Related Items On The Von Korff Chronic Pain Grade Scale Questionnaire Or 12% Improvement Or Better On The Back-Specific Hanover Functional Ability Questionnaire. Patients Who Were Unblinded Or Had Recourse To Other Than Permitted Concomitant Therapies During Follow-Up Were Classified As Nonresponders Regardless Of Symptom Improvement.Results 
    At 6 Months, Response Rate Was 47.6% In The Verum Acupuncture Group, 44.2% In The Sham Acupuncture Group, And 27.4% In The Conventional Therapy Group. Differences Among Groups Were As Follows: Verum Vs Sham, 3.4% (95% Confidence Interval, −3.7% To 10.3%; P = .39); Verum Vs Conventional Therapy, 20.2% (95% Confidence Interval, 13.4% To 26.7%; P < .001); And Sham Vs Conventional Therapy, 16.8% (95% Confidence Interval, 10.1% To 23.4%; P < .001.Conclusions 
    Low Back Pain Improved After Acupuncture Treatment For At Least 6 Months. Effectiveness Of Acupuncture, Either Verum Or Sham, Was Almost Twice That Of Conventional Therapy.
SN  - 0003-9926
M3  - doi: 10.1001/Archinte.167.17.1892
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/Archinte.167.17.1892
ER  -