Acupuncture for Post-hemorrhoidectomy Pain Control

NCT07238504 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UW 25-302
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if acupuncture improves pain control after hemorrhoidectomy in patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids. It will also learn about the safety of using acupuncture in surgical patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does acupuncture lower the maximal pain intensity after hemorrhoidectomy? Does acupuncture reduce analgesics requirement, length of hospital stay and quality of recovery? Researchers will compare fully active acupuncture to a sham treatment (a look-alike procedure with minimum acupuncture stimulation) to see if active acupuncture works to improve pain control. Participants will: Receive acupuncture treatment for 7 times over first 5 days after surgery. Visit the clinic once 2 weeks after surgery for checkups and tests. Keep a diary of their symptoms and the number of times they take pain-killers.

Conditions

Hemorrhoidectomy; Hemorrhoid Pain; Acupuncture

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Maximal pain intensity

  Numeric rating scale (minimum at 0 means 'no pain', maximum at 10 means 'worst pain')

  Post-operative day 1

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Maximal and resting pain intensity

  Post-operative day 0, 2 to 7 and 14

• Dosage of analgesics requirement

  Post-operative 2 weeks

• Length of hospital stay

  Post-operative day 1

• Functional recovery questionnaire

  Post-operative 1 week (time to first bowel motion, time to first urination and time to return to work, counted from the day of operation)

• Adverse effect

  Post-operative 2 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Fully active acupuncture

EXPERIMENTAL

Procedure: Acupuncture

Minimum acupuncture stimulation

SHAM COMPARATOR

Procedure: Acupuncture

Interventions

Acupuncture PROCEDURE

Acupuncture to 6 specific acupoints, 3 distant acupoints and electrical stimulation to 4 pairs of local acupoints.

Also known as: Fully active acupuncture

Fully active acupuncture

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Symptomatic grade III or IV hemorrhoids undergoing conventional hemorrhoidectomy

You may not qualify if:

• Patients scheduled for stapled hemorrhoidopexy
• Concomitant surgery other than conventional hemorrhoidectomy
• Bleeding tendency, thrombocytopenia (platelet count \< 100 x 10\^9/L)
• Immunocompromised status or use of chemotherapy
• Active dermatitis
• Patients with pacemaker or automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
• Pregnant patients
• Known allergy to opioids, local anaesthetic drugs, paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) including cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors
• History of chronic pain (duration for 3 months or more)
• Daily use of strong opioids (e.g. morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone, oxycodone, or meperidine)
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Psychiatric illness
• Impaired renal function (preoperative serum creatinine level \> 120µmol/L)
• Recent acupuncture treatment for other medical conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead
• School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Acupuncture Therapy

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics

Central Study Contacts

Pak Chiu Wong

CONTACT

+852-70836168; pwongpc@connect.hku.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Consultant

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 24, 2025
• First Posted: November 20, 2025
• Study Start: March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Last Updated: December 2, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share