A Randomized Trial of Transcutaneous Electric Acupoint Stimulation As Adjunctive Treatment for Opioid Detoxification

Overview

Journal J Subst Abuse Treat

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2009 Jul 4

PMID 19574017

Citations 21

Authors

Christina S Meade

Scott E Lukas

Leah J McDonald

Garrett M Fitzmaurice

Jessica A Eldridge

Nancy Merrill

Roger D Weiss

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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.

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