A randomized trial of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation as adjunctive treatment for opioid detoxification

Received 23 January 2009; received in revised form 20 May 2009; accepted 21 May 2009. published online 02 July 2009.

Abstract

This pilot study tested the effectiveness of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) as an adjunctive treatment for inpatients receiving opioid detoxification with buprenorphine–naloxone at a private psychiatric hospital. Participants (N = 48) were randomly assigned to active or sham TEAS and received three 30-minute treatments daily for 3 to 4 days. In active TEAS, current was set to maximal tolerable intensity (8–15 mA); in sham TEAS, it was set to 1 mA. By 2 weeks postdischarge, participants in active TEAS were less likely to have used any drugs (35% vs. 77%, p < .05). They also reported greater improvements in pain interference (F = 4.52, p < .05) and physical health (F = 4.84, p < .01) over time. TEAS is an acceptable, inexpensive adjunctive treatment that is feasible to implement on an inpatient unit and may be a beneficial adjunct to pharmacological treatments for opioid detoxification.

Keywords: Transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation, Opioid detoxification, Opioid dependence, Randomized clinical trial

a Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02115, USA

b McLean Hospital, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program, Belmont, MA 02478, USA

c McLean Hospital, Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Belmont, MA 02478, USA

d McLean Hospital, Laboratory for Psychiatric Biostatistics, Belmont, MA 02478, USA

Corresponding author. Duke Global Health Institute, 111 Trent Hall, Trent Drive, Box 90519, Durham, NC 27708. Tel.: +1 919 613 6549.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT00742170.

PII: S0740-5472(09)00093-2

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2009.05.010

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