Acupuncture to Manage Pain After Knee Arthroscopy

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

In this prospective, non-randomized pilot, 60 adults undergoing ambulatory knee arthroscopy under general anesthesia are assigned to receive either standard pain treatment plus acupuncture or standard pain treatment alone. The acupuncture group uses indwelling fixed needles as part of the post-surgical care plan, with outcomes including analgesic use, pain scores, side effects, physiological measures, and mobilization. The trial focuses on short-term postoperative pain management and early mobilization. Inclusion is limited to adults aged 19–55 without prior opioid or psychotropic use, and surgery time must be 80 minutes or less. The study aims to inform whether acupuncture could improve recovery after AKS in a real-world, non-randomized setting.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I to II scheduled for elective ambulatory arthroscopic knee surgery under standardized general anesthesia
2. Surgery time does not exceed 80 minutes
3. Patients without previous opioid and psychotropic medication
4. Patients aged between 19 and 55 years, able to fill in the study questionnaire (Appendix F)
5. Patients who have given written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Current psychiatric disease
2. Local skin infection at the sites of acupuncture
3. Aged \< 19 or \> 55 years
4. Failure to follow the standardized schema of general anaesthesia
5. Surgery time more than 80 minutes
6. Intraoperative complications (bleeding, required blood transfusion more than 6 units of packed cells, cardiovascular instability, required catecholamines)
7. Patients who consumed opioid medication at least 6 months before surgery
8. Patients who are unable to understand the consent form or to fill in the study questionnaire.

Where it's running

• University Medicine of Greifswald
  Greifswald, Vorpommern, Germany Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Taras Usichenko, MD, PhD
• Email: taras@uni-greifswald.de
• Phone: 00490383486

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.